Hell High  Year One Bites
by The Emcee
Summary: John Cena expected to do many things with his life, but being marked as a werewolf was so not one of them. Now, he has to leave everything he knows and loves and attend Hell High, or die.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is something I've been working on for a while. Tell me what you think. R&R. Enjoy!

**Hell High – Year One Bites**

**Chapter One**

"Motherfucking son-of-a-bitch."

I didn't usually curse in front of my younger brother, Matt, but I couldn't help myself. It just slipped out once my eyes found the dog-man standing by my locker, whistling nonchalantly and looking all around. Just what I needed to make this already bad week even more hellish: a visit from the werewolf representative from Hell High. This wasn't the first time I saw a rep from Hell High; during my freshman year, I saw a kid I vaguely knew get Selected by the vamp rep and not too long after that, another kid was Selected by the witch rep. But this was the first time I saw a werewolf rep, especially right at my locker.

A bad feeling stirred in the pit of my stomach, and I felt the sudden urge to puke out the chicken nuggets I ate for lunch. The entire world knew about the existence of vampires, werewolves, witches and warlocks, shape shifters and morphers, and seers, but that didn't mean that I was expecting a visit from one. Not that I had anything against vampires, werewolves, or any other abnormal human beings that coincided with normal humans, but I'd rather not see the deep purple suit that all Hell High reps wore whenever they Selected a teenager. Seeing the rep standing by my locker meant only one thing: that I was being Selected, and I was so not cool with that.

"John! I can't believe that you swore, and so loudly! That's so not like you. I mean-"

Matt stopped talking as his eyes followed my own to my locker. A small, strangled cry escaped his lips when he saw the werewolf and, apparently, it was loud enough that the guy heard him because the rep turned towards us with a big grin plastered on his face. I nearly peed myself when he spoke, his voice loud and boisterous, and I knew that, if it weren't after school, every single student and teacher would have heard him.

"Jonathan Felix Anthony Cena! The time has come for you to be Selected and begin the transformation out of your normal life and into your new, more spectacular one!"

And then, with a speed that was far greater than any I had ever witnessed, the werewolf crossed the hallway towards and stood in front of me all within the span of a few seconds. I stared up wide-eyed at him, too shocked to speak, to shocked to move. Still smiling, the rep grabbed my right hand and placed his index and middle fingers on the back of my hand directly in the middle. A sudden hot, searing pain erupted on the back of my hand where his skin touched mine and I sunk to the ground, howling in pain.

When I finally woke up, I realized three very important things. The first being that I was lying on the cool, tile school floor. The second was that I had a killer headache that made my head feel as though it was about to explode into a billion pieces. And the third was that Matt was bawling his eyes out beside me on the floor. Grunting, I sat up and shook my head, running my hand through my hair. And then, I stopped. Drawing a shaky breath, I pulled my hand away from my head and looked at the back of my hand. Sure enough, there was the incomplete mark that designated me as a werewolf.

Suddenly, my throat felt dry and I felt sick again. This couldn't be happening! All I wanted to do was get through my last two years of high school, graduate, go to college, become something worthwhile, and move out of my house and away from my dad. But now, all of that, everything that I had been working so hard for ever since my mom passed away four years ago, was lost. All because of that stupid rep from Hell High.

"Johnny! Thank God you're okay! Oh my God! I can't believe that that werewolf rep just Selected you! What are you going to do, John-John?" Although I felt sick and unsure and completely confused, my voice sounded strong and sure, and like that of a stranger.

"I…I dunno, Matt. We both know that I…I can't stay here or at home. I…I have to go to Hell High."

Any teen who got Selected to become a vamp, werewolf, etc., had to go and live at Hell High. Not only did Hell High have the necessary classes to help the Selected teens make it through their transformation, but it also provided large numbers of each of the five species which helped the teens make it through their transformation. I wasn't stupid; I read all about Hell High in my Current Events class last year, and one news paper article that I read said that only about ten percent of teens Selected died before Completion, and nine percent of those had little to no contact with fully matured abnormal beings. So, there was absolutely no question about what I had to do. I had to move to Hell High.

"John, you can't go! You can't leave us! Steve and Sean still need you. I still need you! Please…" Matt's cries brought me out of my funk and I shook my head and looked at him. He was a freshman and he looked every bit the part of it: small, scrawny, and still a bit pitchy, but he was my brother and I loved him. In an attempt to calm him down, I reached out to him, but he flinched away from me and scooted back. I knew it was out of instinct, but that didn't stop the bubble of hurt that his actions formed inside of me.

"Matt… It's me, come on…"

He looked at me with his big, blue eyes full of tears and I opened my mouth to speak, but voices from down the hall made us both look up. Walking down the hallway were three of the football team's biggest players and stars: Michael Vasel, Dave Batista, and Anthony Grody. I didn't pay any attention to Michael or Anthony. Dave was the only one I was focused on. Before we entered high school, Dave and I had been best friends. He knew everything about me and I knew everything about him. Dave knew I was gay before I even knew and he didn't shun me for it. And, if I was being honest with myself, I was developing feelings for him.

But all of that changed once high school started. He tried out for football; I tried out for concert choir. He became star quarterback; I became a bass singer. We grew apart and haven't really talked much since. For two whole years actually. Sure, we had classes together and stuff, but we just didn't talk. I never understood why, but thinking about it always made me feel sad and crappy, so I tried to not think about it. That never really worked too well either. Anthony's loud, obnoxious voice broke me out of my mental rant.

"Did you see how hot she looked? And she was all over you, Dave. I'm surprised you turned her down man."

"I just wasn't feeling it, Tony."

"We both noticed. What the hell's been up with you? I mean-"

"Hey! Isn't that that Cena guy?"

My heart stopped when I realized that they had seen Matt and me. We must have looked so strange, both of us sitting on the floor, but I wasn't too concerned about that. Actually, I wasn't concerned about Anthony or Michael or my new werewolf mark. All of my attention was focused on Dave. His gaze was focused solely on me and for a split second I looked down at my marked hand, hoping and praying that he didn't see it. Unfortunately for me, Lady Luck decided to go and screw me over, because Dave's eyes followed my own and he saw my mark. His eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks, his gazing going from my mark to my eyes and then back again. It took a few minutes for his friends to catch on, but when they did, it was complete hell.

"Holy fucking shit! Cena's been Selected!"

"Is that a werewolf mark? For really? Oh, hell no! Dave c'mon! We've gotta get outta here man!" They both grabbed onto Dave's jock jacket and forced him backwards. Only when he stumbled and nearly fell did he tear his eyes away from me and turn around, following his friends back the way they had came. Sighing in defeat, I turned to Matt who was huddled against a locker opposite me and, with a heavy voice, I spoke up.

"Go to the library and get your books Matt. Be sure to make it home before dark."

"W-what about you, John-John?"

"I'm going to drive home and get my stuff. I can't live with you anymore."

Nodding, he got up and ran off to the library. Feeling utterly alone and foreign, I stood up on wobbly legs and turned around, walking away from my locker. I guess I wouldn't be needing that Spanish textbook after all. With heavy feet, I continued walking down the hall and out of the school, heading towards the student parking lot and, ultimately, my car.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm glad so many of you liked the new story. That must be a sign that I'm doing something right. Anyway, here's another one. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Two**

The car drive home felt as though it took forever even though it only took seven minutes. Thank goodness there weren't many cars out and about because I was sure that I was driving like a granny. I didn't care though; my mind was too focused on other things.

Why had I been Selected? Not just that, but why was I Selected to become a werewolf? What was Hell High going to be like? Did I even really want to move there? If I didn't, would they come looking for me? How was my dad going to react if/when he saw my mark?

Speaking of my dad…

I hoped and prayed as I drove home that he was still at work and not at home. Ever since Mom died, he's been an ass to me. Just me. Not to my older brother Dan or my younger brothers Matt, Steve, and Sean. Just me. He constantly ragged on me when Mom was sick and in the hospital about being her favorite and about how much she worried about me and asked about me when he went to visit her. That annoyed me, but I let it slide because, well, Mom was sick and Dad had a lot on his plate. Now, four years later, he was still ragging on me and being a complete and utter jerk, saying the same crap over and over and it ticked me off. Dad was always complaining about how bad of an influence I am on my younger brothers. I wasn't a bad influence, or even a bad kid. Sure, I snuck out of the house once but that was because he grounded me for dropping a plate and breaking it and I already had plans to go to the movies with Dan.

All too soon, the house came into view and, with a strong feeling of dread and with my head still pounding like crazy, I pulled into the driveway and parked my car in front of the second door of our two door garage. My car wasn't allowed to be parked inside of the garage, which I thought was completely stupid because my car was a 1994 GMC Jimmy that was worth more than his little piece of crap Ford. Whatever. Grabbing my school bag, I got out of the car and entered the house through the garage, swearing under my breath when I saw Dad's car parked in its usual spot. Great, he was home after all. Even more great, Matt was probably still at the library doing his research for his English project. And Dad so did not know about that. Just when I thought that the worst he could do is yell at my for being Selected – even though I had absolutely nothing to do with that – he's got Matt to hold over my head. Lady Luck must really hate my guts today.

As quietly as I could, I opened the door that led to the kitchen and stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind me. With my bag in tow, I crept across the kitchen and down the hallway that led to the living room and the stairway that would take me to my room. Noise came from the living room before I reached it and I knew that Dad was sitting in his car watching TV. For a split second, I paused and contemplated going back outside and going around back to climb up onto the garage roof and enter my bedroom through the window that I kept open constantly. Even though it was near the end of September, it wasn't cool enough to keep the windows closed all the time. Besides, I loved sleeping with the window open. However, I must not have opened or closed the door quietly enough because Dad's voice called out and the noise that the TV was producing was turned off.

"I know you're standing there!" His voice sounded light and I realized that he didn't know for sure who was standing in the hallway. Sighing softly to myself, I exited the hallway and stepped into the living. Dad's smile faded almost instantly and he turned his attention back to the black, blank screen of the TV.

"Oh. It's you." Even though his voice told me that he clearly didn't want me to be there, I tried my best to not let it annoy me and I responded in, what I hoped, was a carefree, nonchalant voice.

"Hey, Dad. 'Sup?" My tone must have tipped him off that something was wrong, because Dad turned back to scowl at me. His eyes, however, went straight to my werewolf mark on my right hand which was holding onto the strap of my school bag. His eyes widened and he stood up so fast that it almost startled me and he took a step towards me.

"What the hell have you done now? Just…just look at that _thing_! What did you do this time, Jonathan?" His accusatory tone made me mad and I stood up to my full height, trying to intimidate him although he still towered over me by a good five inches.

"I didn't _do_ anything! I swear. This werewolf representative was standing by my locker after school when Matt and I were walking to it and-"

"Speaking of Matt, where is he? Why isn't he with you? Don't tell me that now that you're a freak that you don't care about your brothers." With word he spoke, rage boiled through my veins and I glared up at him.

"He's at the school library working on his research project! And I'm not a freak! This…this thing that's happening to me is a change in DNA. A transformation that occurs when a teen is first Selected by a Hell High rep. Everyone knows that." I silently thanked God for the fact that I took Current Events and College in the high school Biology last year. If I hadn't, I would have never been able to argue with him about what it was that was actually happening to me.

"A freak is still a freak. And I'll be God-damned if I allow a freak to live in my house!"

"You won't have to! I have to move to Hell High or I'll die. Everyone knows that!" He didn't say anything for a few seconds and, for a moment, I thought that I had one. But a slow, mean smile spread across his face and I felt my heart drop and tighten in worry and fright.

"Is that so? Well then…I just may have found the answer to my problem then."

Rage took over completely at that point. First, he called me a freak and then he called me his problem. How the hell was I any sort of problem? Why did he think that he could talk to me that way? Without thinking, I swung my fist as hard as I could and cracked him in the jaw hard enough that he stumbled backwards and fell over his chair. I ran through the living room as fast as I could and proceeded up the stairs, running all the way until I made it to my room. Slamming the door shut, I locked it and leaned against it, breathing hard and praying as I heard Dad run after me. Pounding on my door, I continued leaning against it, pushing back just in case he managed to break it open. After a few minutes, he cursed and left. I could hear his feet stomping down the stairs all the way.

Still kind of pissed, I dumped all of my school stuff out of my bag and onto my bed. Then I opened my closet and pulled out a few shirts and jeans before I made my way to my dresser and grabbed some boxers and pajamas. I didn't know what the hell was going to happen to me. I wasn't sure if I'd survive and make it to Completion. And I sure as hell didn't know what Hell High would be like and if I'd fit in, but I didn't care. At that moment, all I cared about was one thing: getting out of the house. After I had stuffed my school bag full of clothes, I grabbed my _Bleach_ hoodie – yes, I do realize how nerdy that made me, but I don't care – and put it on before I opened my window the entire way and, carefully and quietly, stepped out of my room and onto the garage roof.

Before I moved any further, I remained crouched down and listened. To everything. A few seconds passed, and everything seemed calm, relaxed, and normal. _If only they knew. _Carefully, I leapt down from the garage roof and made my way to my Jimmy. Unlocking it, I threw my bag onto the passenger seat and climbed inside. Putting in reverse, I rolled backward out of the driveway and put it in drive. Instead of taking off right away, I paused for a moment, wondering where exactly I was going to go. I wasn't too sure where the Hell High in this area was located and I sure as hell wasn't going to go back to school. And then, it hit me, plain as the nose on my face.

Dan! I'd go to Dan's house! My oldest brought – five years older than me to be exact – lived about forty minutes away from town. But that didn't stop us from being close and seeing each other regularly. Dan was the oldest of all of us and he was, by far, my favorite brother. He was my best friend and had been there for me when no one else was and, were it not for him, I really would be a bad kid.

Feeling relieved that I finally had a destination, I drove off away from my old house, determined to escape as fast as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thankfully, either because I'm a genius (which I doubt) or because I was tired and not thinking properly, I've caught up on all of my missed school work. That means that I'll be writing a bit more. However, it's almost the end of the quarter and projects will soon be due, so please just be patient with me. Thank you all so much for the support and for liking this story thus far. To be honest, I don't like writing in first person because I fear that people will assume I'm writing a Mary Sue. This is not the case. I can tell you all right now that, if I were truly to write myself in a story, there would be a lot of fan girl squealing and the demand for hot sex between John and Randy. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Three**

Dan's house sat in an open field not too far from a lake that was surrounded by a small wooded area. It was a wooden house, a cottage actually, and it was small and perfect for him. Ever since we were kids, Dan loved the outdoors and when he graduated from school and got a job working as a police officer he moved out here, closer to work and the small town he worked for and protected.

I loved coming out here. It was always so peaceful and quiet and it reminded me of how things used to be before Mom died. Now, it was the only safe haven I had; the only place that I felt safe at. Slowly, I drove down the dirt driveway that led to Dan's house. When I got to the wide dirt parking area, I parked my Jimmy and got out. As I stepped up onto the porch, I saw a note attached to the door written in Dan's handwriting.

_Meet me at the mountain._

A smile broke out on my face. Dan knew that I was coming. I didn't call him, I never had to; he just knew when I'd be coming over and he always had a note on the door waiting for me if he went out. Shaking my head, I pulled the note off of the door and put it in my pocket before I stepped off the porch and started walking to the left, through the plain.

The mountain wasn't actually a mountain. When we were younger, Mom brought us out to the lake nearby to swim, and one day Dan and I went roaming through the woods around it. While we were walking around, we found these big boulders littering one area, kind of like Devil's Den in Gettysburg, and we claimed them as our 'mountain'. Yes, I realize how dork we were, but we were kids and who cares if we still called the structure our mountain? No one else knew about it but us, mainly because no one else lived close to the lake like Dan did. It was our sanctuary, our place, something that belonged just to us. Before Dave and I stopped talking, I had considered bringing him out to the mountain. He had been out here before, but never to the mountain. Unfortunately, it never happened.

Thinking about it made a sad bubble emerge within me and I did my best to stifle it. Maybe someday when, or rather if, I made it to Completion, I'd bring my significant other to the mountain. Until then, it remains a place just for Dan and me.

I walked through the field, knowing that it'll probably take me at least twenty minutes or more to reach the mountain. The lake sat right in the middle of the woods, and beyond that was the place where our mountain was. As I continued walking, I couldn't shake this weird feeling that I was having. It was almost as though I was being watched or followed or something, but the only sounds I heard were of the wildlife around me.

For a moment, I stopped walking and stood where I had stopped. Looking around the field and the trees that loomed ahead of me, I looked around, trying to find something out of place, something that was watching me, or just something! At first, I saw nothing and I was about to begin walking again, but then something caught my eye. Something, a large, dark brown something, was crouching in the high grass not too far from Dan's house. When it first caught my attention, I thought it was a log or a fallen over tree or something, but then, it moved. A head lifted up and soft brown eyes connected with my blue ones and all of a sudden, everything stopped.

The moment those eyes stared back at my own, I knew that I had to run. I should have run right then and there. Instead, I hesitated and the thing, whatever it was, stood up to its full height. It looked like a dog! A huge dog, unlike any I had ever seen before! More wolf-like than dog-like actually and that's when the fear unfroze me from my spot and I took off as fast as I could.

As I ran, I heard loud, thundering sounds from behind me and I knew that the creature was chasing after me. The trees were just up ahead of me and it was only a matter of seconds before I entered the wooden sanctuary, hoping that the thing would shy away. My hopes were dashed as I continued hearing the thunderous steps from behind me and I forced my tired legs forward as fast as they would go. There was no way I'd let myself give up and get caught by that beast. Somewhere up ahead was the lake and then, hopefully, the thing would lay off and stop chasing me.

It seemed like only a few seconds, though it was probably a couple of minutes, before I burst through the tree line and skidded to a halt at the lake's shoreline. The lake looked the same as it always had. With rocks and boulders littering the shoreline and even under the water, the calm waters gave me a false sense of security. During the spring and summer, the lake was usually calm and homey, but once autumn and winter set in, the breezes created powerful waves that could easily kill someone if they threw them into a boulder or something.

From behind me, I heard the creature burst out of the woods and I turned my back on the lake and the rocks and boulders. It didn't look tired or played out or anything of the sort; actually, it looked like it was in a playful mood. Although it didn't have a human face, the creature looked as though it were playing with me, teasing me, and it confused me. Fear, however, refused to dwindle and I stepped back, trying to get away from it.

"What the hell are you? Get out of here! Go on; get!" I continued to back up, but the animal followed me slowly. Then, without thinking, I turned around to run away when I tripped over a rock and fell into the water. And then, for the second time that day, I fainted.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you all for keeping up with this and giving me your input. It gives me the drive to continue doing what I'm doing. R&R. Enjoy.

**Chapter Four**

"So, he's going to be okay?"

"I already told you, but yes, for the millionth time, he will be okay. His body's already beginning to change, so his body temperature is already higher than a normal human's. The cold water had little effect on his body. What actually concerned me was the fact that he hit his head on a rock. Luckily though, the damage wasn't severe; just a bump and bruise."

"So he'll be fine then?"

"Mr. Cena, please calm yourself down. John will be just fine."

At that point, I opened my eyes and groaned when they met bright lights. Closing them, I turned my head to the side and winced at the slight pain that shot through my head. My headache was, for the most part, gone, but in its wake it left a slight throb that continued to bug the crap out of me regardless of what I did. I didn't have a lot of time to really think about it though, because Dan pulled me into one of his bear hugs which, after a few seconds, I returned.

"It's about damn time you woke up, kid! God, you almost gave me a heart attack when I found you in the water. You big dork; didn't you ever learn how to swim?" Dan pulled back and he smiled at me, trying to play calm and collected, although I saw the seriousness in his eyes.

"It wasn't my fault! There was this dog chasing me and it scared the crap outta me!" Dan's gaze relaxed a bit and he laughed at me before ruffling my dark hair.

"A dog? That's what made you freak out so bad?"

"Hey, it's been a stressful day. First, I'm Selected, and then Dad geeks out about it-"

"Dad flipped shit on you again?"

The tone of his voice and the expression on his face completely wiped away any humor and sense of calm that had spread throughout the room. As I looked at him, I knew, even if I tried or wanted to, I couldn't lie to him. Dan was my big brother, my best friend, and he knew, more than anyone, how Dad really was. If anyone would understand, he would.

"Yeah, only way worse than normal." Dan's blue eyes narrowed dangerously, and I grimaced even though it wasn't directed at me.

"What exactly did he say, Jonathan?" I shifted uncomfortably but I answered him nonetheless.

"Oh, you know…the usual…'What have you done now?' 'Just look at that _thing!' _'You're a freak.' Blah, blah, blah. And then he said that I wasn't allowed to live at home anymore. I told him that if I did, I'd die. He seemed happy about that part. Said he just found the answer to his problem and-"

"He said what?" Dan's voice rose and I flinched at his tone. Unlike our Dad, Dan wasn't one to get angry right away unless, of course, it involved Dad or me in the same situation. There's only been a hand full of times I've never seen him yell, and each of those times scared me shitless.

"Mr. Cena, please keep your tone down. It's late and there are students in class and asleep." My eyes turned from Dan to the man standing beside him, trying, and failing, to calm him down. When I woke up, I hadn't even noticed that he was there, and I felt a bit embarrassed about that as well as guilty.

"Um, sorry but, who are you?" The man turned to me then. A small smile spread across his elderly face and I realized immediately that, although he was old, he was powerful and strong.

"I'm Mr. McMahon. I'm the Provost for the Hell High in this area. I'm glad to see that you're awake and feeling better." He held out his hand and I shook it, still feeling a bit nervous. Before Mr. McMahon could continue, Dan interrupted him.

"John, we're going to talk about…_Dad_ after you're settled in." Looking into his eyes, I saw that there was no other way around it. To be honest, I was actually glad he said that because I really didn't want to discuss family drama in front of Mr. McMahon. Just then, realization hit me and I turned back to Mr. McMahon, my mouth hanging open like a moron.

"You're the Provost of Hell High?"

"Yes."

"So that means that we're at Hell High? Right now? This very second?" Dan laughed at me while Mr. McMahon gave me another smile.

"Yes we're at Hell High. Actually, we're currently at the nurse's office of the school. You're brother found you after you tripped and fell into the water and, when he realized that you had been Selected, he drove you here." I turned to Dan, feeling a bit nauseous.

"How long have I been out?" Dan's smile faltered a bit, but it didn't disappear. Instead, it turned into a concerned smile, one that reflected just how worried he was about me.

"It's almost nine at night Johnny."

"Holy freakin' crap!" I had been out for five hours? More than five hours actually. Damn, what the hell was wrong with me? Why didn't my lazy ass wake up as soon as Dan found me or something like that? God, I felt like such a damn pussy it wasn't even funny.

"Luckily, our werewolf representative was still tuned into you because with his help, Dan wouldn't have found our school. We like to keep hidden and away from large populations so that there's as little controversy and mayhem as possible. It's sad that we've had to resort to those measures, but appropriate."

"Wait. You said some students were asleep and some were in class?" Mr. McMahon must have seen the what-the-fuck look on my face because he laughed.

"For the most part, the students here attend day classes. But the vampyres attend night classes because it's easier on them."

"What do you mean 'easier on them'?"

"A large amount of direct sunlight causes incredible discomfort and unease to newly Selected students. That increases as they continue their transformation and doesn't dissipate until they reach Completion. Once they're a full-blooded vampyre, then the sunlight will bother them little to none and they'll be able to go out and do things just like normal humans."

"Oh… Okay. Cool." I was acting like a complete and totally idiot. Hadn't I already learned that before? Yes, I have, but my mind wasn't working at all and my mouth, which had a mind of its own sometimes, was doing the thinking for me overall. So not a good idea. Before I could embarrass myself further, Dan spoke up and his tone, thank God, was back to normal.

"Well John-John, now that you're awake and feeling and looking much better, I'm going to leave and retrieve your Jimmy for you. I'll be back after Mr. McMahon shows you around and all that jazz."

"It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Cena. And thank you for bringing John to us." They shook hands and I followed them out of the nurse's office and I was amazed as we entered a large lobby with doors leading out into the dark night to the right of us.

"I'll be back before you know it, John. And then, we'll talk about Dad. Okay?" I nodded and he hugged me once again before he let go and exited through the doors. Although I hated to admit it, I felt like a little kid being abandoned by his parents. As I watched him leave, I realized that Dan was more than just my brother and my best friend: he was like a second dad to me, the one I had always wanted but was somehow cheated out of.

"You two share an incredible bond." Mr. McMahon's voice jolted me from my ranting and I turned to him, looking sheepish and slightly guilty.

"Yeah…he's my best friend."

I looked around the lobby, trying to seem as though I were more curious about the school than I was worried about my brother. The building looked as though it were made out of bricks. To the far left of the lobby was a glass wall with two doors leading out of it. As I continued looking through the glass wall, I realized that what I was looking into what the cafeteria. Dead ahead of us were three sets of double doors that led to what appeared to be a big room.

"We're currently in the auditorium lobby. To the right is one of our exits and to the left it the cafeteria, as you can see. I'll lead you down the ramp in the far right and take you to the dorm where you'll be rooming." I turned to him and saw him watching me.

"Dorm?"

"Yes. We have five major dorm areas, one for each species, and those are separated according to gender and Completion year. Everyone except for those in their fifth and final year here rooms with someone else, so you'll be sharing your room with another."

"Sweet. So, it's kind of like college?"

"Kind of. Let's get going. Once I introduce you to your roommate, I'll leave you with him."

I nodded and followed him as he walked across the lobby and to the carpeted ramp that was located in the top right corner of the lobby. We walked down a long, dark hallway that was only lit by the moonlight, which only came out when the clouds were blown away from it. It was silent as we walked along the hallway and I looked out of the window, wondering what it would be like to live here, to attend classes, to make new friends…

Would I even fit in here? Sure, at my old school, I had friends and I sort of fit in, but it might be different here. What would my classes be like? What would my roommate be like? Hesitantly, I looked down at my right hand and gazed at the deep purple wolf mark that had been given to me just a few hours ago. This little incomplete mark was actually kind of interesting, even sort of pretty. Okay, I realize that I'm gay, but it's not often that I think of things as 'pretty' anymore, but even I couldn't deny the lovely wolf's head displayed so proudly. I held my hand closer to my face and I gasped as I realized that the mark wasn't a solid line: the line that created it was made up of thousands of tiny wolves so well hidden that a normal human probably wouldn't have been able to see them. Huh, that was weird. I just used the term 'human'. God, I must be changing if that's starting to roll off of my tongue so easily.

Mr. McMahon turned left and then right and we walked up a flight of stairs before we reached a large wooden door. Before he opened it, he turned to me and gave me a pat on the arm and an encouraging smile.

"Beyond here is your dorm. This will be your home until you've reached Completion." _Or die._ He didn't say the words, but they hung in the air around us regardless. Not entirely sure what to say in response, I nodded at him and gave him the best smile I could muster at that moment in time.

"I'm ready."

"Good. Jonathan Felix Anthony Cena, welcome to your new home and you're new life."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So, I'm kind of surprised at the reception this story has gotten considering it only has four, soon to be five, chapters. Regardless though, I am happy and thankful that you all are reading it and giving me your thoughts and opinions. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Five**

The first thing I saw when Mr. McMahon opened the door was a common room that had TVs and couches and chairs everywhere. It wasn't a large room or anything, but it was a pretty decent size. To the left of the room was a small kitchenette area that held a few refrigerators and a few tables. There were also cabinets and cupboards and some containers on the counter.

My eyes returned to the common area and I noticed that the TVs were all off and there was no one around. At first, I thought that was kind of odd considering that Hell High was home to numerous teenagers. But then, I remembered what Mr. McMahon had told me, that only the vamp teens took classes at night, and then it sort of made sense. Still though, there should have been students lounging around on the couches and in the chairs, watching TV and carrying on.

"A lot of the students are in their dorm rooms. This dormitory that we're in is for the werewolf students and the rooms are separated by Completion year. Follow me and I'll show you to your room."

I followed Mr. McMahon through the common room and down a hallway that I hadn't noticed before. After a few feet, the doors to the dorm rooms began and I looked at them, seeing a year and a name on every one of them. From the looks of it, the fifth year students' rooms came first, and then the fourth years, and so on until, eventually, we arrived near to the section marked specifically for those in their first year. My nerves started acting up and I couldn't help but start to sweat.

In barely a few seconds, I was going to meet my roommate, the person I'd probably be spending a lot of time with. I wonder what he's like.

"Here we are. John, this is your room." At Mr. McMahon's words, I mentally shook myself out of my daze and looked up. The door in front of me was the last one on the left hand side of the hallway. On the door was a letter one and my name stamped on a gold plaque below another. The other name read _Justin Gabriel_. Before I could say anything, Mr. McMahon knocked on the door and it swung up in a sudden burst.

Standing in the doorway was a teenage boy about my age. He was shorter than me, but he looked strong and built and agile. His skin was a soft tanned color and his hair was a dark brown. I thought he seemed kind of average until I looked into his eyes. They were the softest brown eyes I had ever seen and I thought that they looked familiar. Before I could dwell on the thought any longer, excitement and happiness flooded those eyes and I was suddenly pounced upon by my new roommate.

"Finally! I've been waiting for you for a while. You sure took your time, didn't you?" His hold on me was firm and unrelenting and I felt myself squirm in his arms. The warmth of his body seeped into mine and I almost relaxed in his embrace. Almost.

"What the heck? Hey, get off of me. Please?" Mr. McMahon sighed and placed a hand on Justin's shoulder. I felt Justin's body stiffen, but he didn't release me. Instead, he pressed himself closer to me, his face nuzzling my neck. I heard him growl when Mr. McMahon spoke.

"Justin, John's had a long day, so let him go. After you're introduced, I'll leave you two alone, but you need to release him first." When Mr. McMahon tried to pry Justin off of me, the other boy snarled and snapped at him. I froze. What the hell was going on with this guy?

"Justin! Let go of him now." Mr. McMahon's voice was firm and held all of the power his position entitled to him. Reluctantly, and still growling, Justin let go of me. Offering his hand, he helped me up. I dusted myself off, feeling irritated and confused, but I still took notice of how close Justin was to me, almost as though he were my boyfriend or something.

"Now that that's over with… John Cena, this is Justin Gabriel. Justin, this is John, your new roommate."

"Among other things," I heard Justin mumble, although it appeared that Mr. McMahon hadn't heard him. His statement confused me and I wanted to ask Mr. McMahon to put me with someone else, but he was already leaving.

Confused and so not wanting to be here, I followed Justin into our room and closed the door, sighing to myself. A few minutes of silence passed and I felt the urge to scream or hit something. When I looked at Justin, I was shocked to see that he had been studying me, standing just as close to me as he had been out in the hallway. Fidgeting, I purposefully tried to look at anything but him, but it didn't work. Eventually, my annoyed gaze returned to him and I opened my big mouth before I could stop myself.

"What are you looking at? It's kind of creeping me out, so knock it off." Justin grinned at me and he walked over to what must have been his bed and he sat on it.

"I just like looking at you. You're just as cute as I imagined you'd be."

I suppress an eye-roll and opted to look around the room. It was a cozy room with two twin beds that had a night stand sitting between them. Near both of the beds were doors that, I think, were closets and on the opposite wall was a door that was open, revealing the bathroom inside. The floor, like most of the floor in the school, was wooden and there was a giant circular rug in the middle of the room that covered most of the floor. A desk was situated under the window opposite the door to the dorm hallway and a laptop and some school books rested on it. Another desk, one that was meant for me, was situated by the door to the hallway. There were shelves and bookcases in the room as well. When I actually looked at the room, really looked at it, I gasped.

My laptop had been brought from home and was placed on my desk. On the shelves and cases that weren't occupied by Justin's things were my own books and other stuff from home. On my bed, folded neatly, was my Indian blanket that had been given to me when I was eight and my _Death Note _throw blanket. Feeling my legs begin to shake, I sat down on my bed and stroked my blankets, amazed and wondering how in the world they got here.

"Your brother must have gotten some things for you. That or he gave the wolf rep permission to retrieve some of your things." Upon hearing his voice, I looked up at Justin.

"This is just too weird…" He shrugged and grinned at me before he got off of his bed and made his way over to my own. Sitting down beside me, he gazed at me with a predatory look that made my skin crawl, though not because it was unpleased. Regardless of how pleasured my body was by him, my mind was screaming obscenities at him. No way in hell should I be getting feel-good vibes from a guy I'd just met.

"You're gorgeous John. I was hoping you would be." Okay, I know that I probably shouldn't have snapped, but I was getting sick and tired of his cryptic sentences.

"What the hell is your problem, man? First, you tackled me, then you just stare at me like you want to eat me, and now you're saying crap that doesn't even make sense. What the hell do you mean? Just tell me or shut up, damn it!" Justin's grin turned into a smirk and, before I knew it, he had me on my back and he was sitting on me, his face just inches from my own.

"I knew you'd be coming here, John. I knew back in April that you had been chosen to be Selected."

His revelation hit me hard and I stopped struggling. Staring up at him, I slowly allowed his words to sink in. I had been marked to be Selected back in April? That was before I even finished my sophomore year in high school! How could they know way back then…?

"But how…?" Justin's eyes turned soft and gentle, as though he could sense the distraught and upset just by hearing my voice. Leaning down, he nuzzled my neck, his warm breath tickling my skin as he spoke.

"Our school's seer comes out with a list of teenagers who are to be Selected in the fall. I snuck into her office one night and looked through the files of all of those who had been chosen to be Selected. I didn't care about most of them, but when I came to yours…. The seer writes down everything in those files, including who a student's mate will be and whether or not they reach Completion. I don't remember much of your file John. Just one thing that I haven't been able to stop thinking about ever since then."

His words, which had been caressing my neck ever since he started speaking, caused shivers to run throughout my entire body. Even though my body was feeling pretty good right now, my mind still tried to focus on what he had told me.

I had been chosen to be Selected back in April by the school's seer along with a bunch of other kids.

Justin had snuck into the seer's office for some reason and I had looked at my file.

And there was only one thing he could remember from reading it.

Against my better judgment, I replied, asking him the one thing that I knew that he wanted me to ask.

"What do you remember seeing?" I felt him smile against my neck.

"The only thing I remember seeing is who your mate was destined to be." My heart dropped. So, he hadn't seen if I would reach Completion or not. But before I could actually _think_ about everything he had told me, my mouth, working of its own accord, started blabbing.

"And who is my mate?" Justin lifted himself from my neck and smiled a genuine smile down at me.

"Me."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So, I just found out that my favorite teacher at school put his two weeks in. It sucks so much. The entire reason why I even decided to go to that school was because of him. And now he's leaving. This last remaining year is going to suck poo. I hope I didn't ruin the updating of this new chapter for you. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Six**

My eyes widened and I shot up so suddenly that Justin let go of me. A small whining noise emitted from his throat and he looked like I had just kicked his dog. Moving back until my back hit the head board, I stared at him, not sure how I felt about his confession, not sure what to say or do. After all, I literally just met him a few minutes ago, and he goes and drops a bombshell like that? For some reason, that made me mad. Way too much had happened today and he goes and tells me that? Does he think I'm just going to bend over backwards for him? Uh, sorry, but hell no. I've never had sex before and I sure as hell wasn't ready for it now, especially with some guy I just met.

"What the hell is your problem?" My harsh question and tone of voice made his eyes widen, but before he could open his mouth, I continued.

"I mean, for the love of God, I just got here and you're all up in my business like there's no tomorrow. It's creepy and weird and just plain not normal for people to hug random strangers and then tell them that you're their mate."

"But-"

"I mean, please, as though I haven't had a rough day already! You go and tell me all of this crap, and for what? You think I'm going to just up and give some guy _I don't even know_ my butt cherry? Um, no. News flash Justin: I'm not a slut and I'm so not staying in this room for a minute longer. I'll see you later." I got up and walked towards the door, ignoring Justin's protests.

"John, wait! That's not what-"

I slammed the door in his face and stormed off, still feeling heated and stressed and generally overwhelmed by everything that had happened today. Walking down the hallway, I entered the common room, which was still empty, and proceeded out of the door. Retracing the route Mr. McMahon and I had walked not too long ago, I wandered back down the flight of stairs until I reached the ramp that sat between the auditorium lobby and where I was standing now. The moonlight still shone through the big glass windows that made up a large portion of the wall on the left hand side of the ramp.

Although it was such an ordinary thing, it made everything look different. The ramp was completely enveloped in blue, grey, and white lighting effects courtesy of the moon. Suddenly, I felt the urge to just be out there, in the outdoors, open to the moonlight and nature and everything else that came with it. Having a destination, I started walking again, this time heading towards the auditorium lobby and keeping left until I opened one of the doors that led outside.

Stepping outside, I looked around the school grounds. There was a concrete sidewalk, but for the most part, it was a grassy area with a few scattered trees near the large brick wall that kept the school hidden from the outside world. For some reason, feeling so excluded from the general population made me feel odd inside, almost as though there was something wrong. The whole entire world knew about the existence of every single creature residing in this school and the other schools all over the world. Why hide?

From over the brick wall, a twig snapped and I froze immediately. And then, I mentally kicked myself for two good reasons. The first was incredibly simple: Hell High was located in the woods. So, naturally, there would be wildlife wandering around beyond the school walls. Second, Dan did say that he'd come back, so maybe it was him. Okay, the last reason was very weak and I felt like a dipshit for considering it, but it was possible, right? Dan could have forgotten where the entrance was, right? While that was out of character for him, it was possible…right? Then, a voice, one I hadn't heard for a while, called out my name and I felt my entire body stiffen.

"John! John, you there? I could have sworn…" That was Dave's voice. I felt myself paling and, subconsciously, my feet began to wander over to the wall where Dave's voice came from. Why was he here now, of all times? More importantly, _how_ did he find the school?

"Dave?" I called out to him, partly hesitant, partly excited.

"John! Good, I've found you. But how am I going to get…"

Knowing what he was planning to do, I grabbed the branch of the nearest tree and pulled myself up. I grabbed another branch and another before I balanced myself and, very carefully, inched my way onto the wall. Staring down, I saw Dave was trying to get up himself and I reached my hand out to help him. He grabbed onto it and I felt a small jolt spread throughout my body, starting at my hand. Dave always had this effect on me, but I never told him about it. Thank God too. The last thing I needed was for him to hate me for liking him more than a friend.

Pulling him up, Dave made his way up until he was sitting steadily on the wall. Once he was sure that he wouldn't fall, he looked at me and when my eyes hit his, it was like a slap in the face. So many emotions were present in his eyes that it was hard to tell them all apart. Hell, I didn't even have a place to start at and I felt a pleasant sort of tingle crawl up my arms. A few seconds passed before either of us spoke, though it felt like an eternity. Finally, when I couldn't take it anymore, I spoke up, unsure of what to say or how to say it.

"Dave…what are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you. I am. It's just… Well, it's been a long time and everything."

"You don't want me here?"

"No! I do. I'm just confused as to why you're here is all." He remained quiet for a minute before he replied.

"John, do you remember the day your mom died?"

I was surprised at the question. Of course I remembered the day Mom died. How could I ever forget the worst day of my life, the day that I lost the parent who cared about me enough to equal five hundred parents? How could I forget the pain and sadness and anger I felt when I found out that she had passed? Or the confused expressions on my younger brothers' faces when Dad told them Mommy had been carried away by a beautiful angel before she could feel any more pain?

"Of course I remember?"

"You remember the couple of weeks after that?" This question was a bit easier to handle. Sure, I vaguely remembered those few weeks after Mom died. Everything was a large blur though, and I knew that that was a result of me trying to get past her death and try to heal myself from her leaving me.

"Uh…not really. No, I don't remember. Not all that well at least. Why?" Dave sighed and bit his lip, looking off into the woods, looking both annoyed and hurt by my answer. Then, his eyes turned back to me and he inched his body forward until he was only a few inches away from me. I could feel his body heat radiating from him like a heater and almost wanted to reach out and touch him. Almost.

"Well, during those weeks, we hung out more often. I'd come over and stay at your place and you'd come over to mine and we'd hang out. Talk. One night, you broke down and completely lost it. It scared me John. I had never seen you so upset and devastated and I did the only thing I could think of." Huh. I didn't remember any of that. But I knew Dave well enough that he wouldn't lie to me. Not when it involved my mom.

"What did you do?"

"I pulled you into a hug and I kissed your forehead. And then your checks. And then, your lips. And you froze. Completely froze. I thought I had made a dumbass move and I was going to apologize when you, finally, kissed me back." Hearing Dave telling me this made my heart stop. God, just hearing about it was like a sweet seduction that I could never, and would never, have. But I liked hearing that we did stuff, even if that stuff was minor.

"Even after you stopped crying and were calm and collective, we still kissed. God, we made out like there was no tomorrow and I never wanted to stop. It almost got too far, Johnny. But then, your phone went off and we broke apart. We never did anything like that after that, and then we stopped talking completely."

"Oh…" I felt bad. Hearing all of this turned me on and I wanted to recreate that moment in time. But at the same time it made me feel bad because we weren't as close as we had been and, although I was still kind of pissed/annoyed/overall irritated with Justin, I felt as though I were kind of cheating on him. Which was completely and totally ridiculous. Justin and I were so not together, at least, not right now, and Dave was here, familiar and so much like home.

"I still think about that night, Johnny. I still think about you. To be honest, whenever I'm getting off, it's that night I think about. It's you who's on my mind. Not Michelle McCool or Alicia Fox, but you. And I knew today, when I saw you and your mark, that I needed to tell you. I _had_ to come here and tell you, John-John." Dave had inched so close to me that our bodies were practically touching. And then, he pulled me to him and I gasped as I felt the warmth and hardness of his body. Closing my eyes, hugged him back and inhaled his scent. God, he still smelled the same.

"I know that it's inappropriate for us to be together now, and I know that I can't change time and erase these past few years where I've practically ignored you. But I want you. I want to be with you. So damn badly."

"Well tough shit. He's my mate, so hands off." Justin's voice completely shattered the moment I was having with Dave and I looked down at him, half embarrassed and half angry at him for sneaking up on us. But Justin's eyes weren't looking at me; they were completely focused on glaring daggers at Dave, who inhaled sharply, though he still kept his grip on me.

"What did you say?" Justin's glare turned cold and he growled.

"You hear me. John's. My. Mate. So hands off."

A/N: Just to let you guys know, I will be posting my WWE stories on my deviant art account. My account is .com. Hope you check 'em out!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Oh, soon, this quarter at school will be over, and then, I'll have a glorious week of no school. And then, I'll have to put up with more shitfuckery from that blasted school. Oh, happy day (hurr, yeah right). Sorry for being so not happy; drama trauma at school, home, and work are making me want to bitch someone out severely. Anyway, I hope y'all like this chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Seven**

"Justin, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I followed you of course. I was worried about you and I wanted to apologize for being such a dick. Good thing I followed you too." Although he answered me, his eyes never left Dave, who glared back at him.

"Justin, I was going to come back to the room eventually. So get out of here." He shook his head and stepped closer to us, speaking to Dave as he did so.

"You shouldn't be here. This is not your place and you're not welcome, so leave."

"I want him here." Finally, Justin's eyes ventured over to me and his gaze softened so much that I was astounded and slightly confused. How could he do that so easily? One minute, he's a complete and total ass; the next, he's a totally different person.

"He's just an ordinary human. This is not where he belongs. He should leave." Without my wanting it to, my anger started to dwindle, though only a little bit. I was still definitely mad at Justin, just not as much anymore.

"Dave is my friend. He has been for a long time."

"That changed when you received your mark. You're no longer human John; you're extraordinary. Those of us who are Selected and make it to Completion live far longer than ordinary humans. You two can't stay together because, eventually, Dave will die."

"I bet you'd like that, huh dog boy?" Justin's eyes hardened when he looked at Dave.

"It wouldn't put me in bad spirits that's for sure. John, please get off of the wall and come back to our room. I need to talk to you in private." He held his hand out to me and I ignored it.

and I got together, he would eventually die. If/when I made it to Completion, my body would age slower and I would remain alive for years after his death. However, Justin was in the same boat as I was: he had been Selected and was making his way to Completion. We already had a lot in common now, but if we both made it to Completion, we'd have decades, maybe even centuries together, considering that we were destined to become mates. Sure, I didn't like it. And, yeah, it made me want to punch something, preferably Justin. But who was I to deny that he was right? I couldn't deny it, because he was right. And it totally and completely sucked.

"Justin, just go back to the room. I'll be there in a sec, okay?"

All of a sudden, I felt really tired and I just wanted to get some sleep. Reluctantly, Justin lowered his hand and bit his lip before he nodded and turned to walk back to the doors that led inside. Shaking my head and sighing, I turned back to Dave, who was watching me with an unreadable expression on his face. We sat there in an uncomfortable silence, neither one of us saying anything. In all honesty, I wasn't sure what to say to him. Dave had been my friend for years, until we fell out, and now, he wanted to be my friend again, maybe even more. Sure, I liked Dave more than a friend, but…

But what? I honestly had no clue why there was a but there. All I knew was that it definitely belonged.

"Well, I should probably be getting back. Text me okay?" Before I could hop down off the wall, Dave reached out and grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Is what he said true? Are you his mate?" For a split second, I saw a brief flash of pain in his eyes and I felt bad. But I answered him truthfully. After all, he deserved to hear the truth.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Justin said that he saw the file that the school's seer had on me and his name was listed as my mate. So yeah, I guess we're destined to be together, although it sucks. A lot." His face hardened and he looked as though he was about to speak, but thought better of it and let me go. Instead, he pulled me to him and kissed me. It was a short kiss, but it felt nice and I didn't want to break away. We did break away, a light blush coloring both of our faces.

"You should go, Dave. It's getting late and I don't know how far you had to drive to get here."

"Okay. I'll text you."

"'Kay." And with that, I leapt down off the school wall and started towards the doors. Justin came out and held one open for me before I reached it and I mentally sighed. That boy was just a complete bundle of weird. Before we entered the auditorium lobby, Dave's voice called out to us and made us halt.

"Yo dog boy! Don't think this is over between us!" Justin growled, but said nothing as Dave dropped over the wall onto the other side, disappearing from sight. Closing the door, I started walking across the lobby and towards the ramp, wanting nothing more than a nice hot shower and a warm bed. After a few seconds, Justin jogged up beside me, looking annoyed.

"I don't like him."

"He's my friend. And the feeling's mutual; he doesn't like you either."

"You're my mate. He needs to back off." I stopped walking and stared long and hard at him.

"You know, it really would be nice if _I_ could make my own decision for once today. How do you even know that I'll come to like you, let alone love you?" Justin tilted his head to the side, looking a lot like a confused puppy.

"Seers are never wrong. Ever. It's never once happened in the history of the world. We are destined to be together, John, one way or another. Speaking of which…I'm sorry. For earlier. Y'know, hugging you and telling you all of that stuff. I completely forgot about how it felt to have your life ripped away from you by being Selected, and I didn't make it any better. So, I'm sorry."

He looked genuinely sorry and I felt some more of my earlier anger dissolving. Seers weren't wrong. Ever. So, regardless of whether or not I wanted it, I was stuck with Justin. Although, now that I actually _looked_ at him, I realized that he was pretty hot, although I bit childish, but still, hotness was hotness. And anyway, I was kind of played out by everything that had happened today and I knew that I must have looked as bad as I felt.

"It's okay. Let's just go to our room. I want to shower and sleep." Nodding, he walked along with me back to our room and I noticed that, although we barely knew each other, there was no uncomfortable awkwardness between us. It just felt…natural. Which was weird, considering I just met him, yet it was also comforting. We _were_ mates after all, even if I wasn't still too keen on that idea just yet. But it did feel nice in a weird, twisted sort of way. I mean, at least I wouldn't have to worry about finding someone to be with for the rest of my life.

Just then, my cell phone went off and I groaned. I forgot about the fact that Dan had gone to get my Jimmy. Answering it, I gave Justin an apologetic look before I started speaking.

"Hey Dan. Did you get my Jimmy?"

"Yep I did. I'm parked at the school parking lot out front. Come meet me."

"The school parking? Okay, gotcha. Be there in a few. Bye."

"Bye, John-John." I hung up and looked down the hallway, realizing that I had no clue how to get to the school parking lot.

"Just turn left here and follow the hallway until you come to a fork and then turn left again. Walk down the stairs and turn left and you'll be right at the parking lot." I looked at Justin completely dumbfounded.

"Huh?" Justin laughed and smiled at me and I felt a small smile tug at my lips. He had a nice laugh and it lit his face up, making him look young and handsome.

"Come on, I'll show you."

Justin grabbed my hand and turned me around so that I was facing a hallway that I hadn't noticed earlier. Of course, before when I had walked past here, I was staring out of the windows at the moon and storming off in a fit of anger. We walked down the hallway and I was surprised to see that there were classes in session. It was kind of strange that kids were having class so late at night, but then again, Mr. McMahon did say that the vamp teens had school at night. Lining the walls were bulletin boards and posters for clubs and general announcements. When we arrived at the fork in the hall, Justin led me left and, after walking a couple of feet, we walked down a small flight of stairs and turned left. Ahead of us was a single door that led outside to a blacktop area: the school parking lot.

"Will you be able to find your way back, John?" I looked at him and nodded, feeling much better at the fact that Dan was here and that I could talk to him for a little bit.

"Yeah. I'll be fine." He nodded and walked over to the door, opening it and peering out. Justin breathed in deeply before he turned back to me and smiled.

"In three days, there will be a full moon. It'll be great."

"How do you know?"

"Once you've been here and have started changing more and more, you'll just be able to tell."

"What all happens to us during a full moon?" Justin looked back outside and I strode over to him, following his gaze and grinning when I saw Dan leaning against my Jimmy.

"I'll tell you when you get back to the room and have showered and stuff. I'll see you then?" I looked at him and nodded, feeling better now that Dan was back.

"Sounds good to me." Justin nodded and smiled before he leaned closer to me and, very gently, placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Bye, John." And with that, he turned around and walked away. I didn't even notice that I was blushing until Dan said something about it when I, finally, walked over to my truck.

"You look like a tomato. It's good to see that you're, uh, making friends." His grin was mischievous and full of laughter, but I didn't get mad at him.

"He's my roommate…and my mate-mate." Dan stopped laughing and stared at me, looking surprised.

"Really? You've, uh, gone that far in such a short amount of time huh?" He smirked at me and I punched him, knowing full well that I was blushing furiously and growling at him.

"No we have not! And believe me, it came more of a shock to me. I just met him, expecting a normal roommate welcome, and he glomps me and tells me I'm his mate. What a lovely welcome-to-Hell-High-present!" Dan stopped smirking and sighed.

"Sorry. But you have to admit that it is kind of funny. And hey, the guy's pretty cute, right? I'm sure you two will get along well and…stuff." I shrugged and moved to stand beside him, leaning against the Jimmy.

"I guess. So, did you go and talk to Dad?" Dan frowned and glared off into space as he nodded.

"Well, it was more like yelling than actual talking… But yeah, I went to the house and we had words. Matt, Steve, and Sean are missing you like crazy, and Dad said that if you ever came back, he'd kill you himself. I told him that, if it weren't for my three younger brothers, I would've called the cops on him."

"I don't get why he hates me." Dan sighed and pulled me into a one arm hug.

"He doesn't like you because you're gay and, instead of Mom being sickened by it like he is, she embraced it and accepted you. Like a mother should. John, did you know that, out of all of us kids, you were the one that Mom and Dad almost lost?" Shocked, I looked up at him. No one had ever told me that before…

"What?"

"Yep. That's why Mom always kept an extra close watch on you, even when she was in the hospital…" Tears welled up in my eyes and I had to bite my lip to keep the tears from falling. I had never known that… Why hadn't anyone told me?

"Well John, I need to get going. My shift starts at six tomorrow. I'll call you and visit as soon as I get the chance, okay?"

"'Kay…" Dan hugged me tightly and kissed my temple.

"It'll be okay John. You're not alone in this." Nodding, I hugged him back, not wanting him to go. But he had to go. Breaking the hug, Dan gave me a small smile before he returned to his vehicle and got in. Waving to him as he pulled away, I never felt so alone and so confused. This was worse than almost getting diarrhea during the opening number of a musical.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I have received my schedule for the new quarter and thank God I don't have a Saturday class. If I did, I would have killed something. Anyway…. I am utterly amazed at the fact that so many people are reading this story. In all honesty, I didn't think it'd go over too well, but I'm glad it's liked by a few people regardless. Thank you all so much for reading. I hope I continue to live up to your expectations. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Eight**

Somehow, I managed to find my way back to the dorm room I shared with Justin. I really didn't want to think about Dad right now, or about what had transpired at the house when Dan went to visit. Odds are that it definitely wasn't a pleasant scene and I felt bad, knowing very well that the reason behind the upset was because of me. Even though Dan had told me why Dad hated me, I still couldn't understand it. I've never tried to hide who I was from anyone, and Dad definitely wasn't mean and hateful when Mom was alive and well. Could he have just been hiding it from me? Or had I been too blind to notice it?

I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I didn't even realize had I reached my room until Justin opened the door and pulled me inside. Slowly, I moved over to my bed and sat down on it, looking around the room, thinking how odd it was that I was actually here and not at home with Dad and my younger brothers. It felt weird being away from home, but it didn't feel uncomfortable being here either. From beside me, the bed dipped down a bit and I looked over to see Justin seeing beside me. He gave me a small smile before he started speaking.

"So…you wanted to know what happens to us during the full moon, right?" My eyes must have shown my surprise because his smile turned wide and genuine. And then, my brain started kicking in. I had asked him about that before I went to talk to Dan. When I came back, I was so out of it that it was more than obvious, so he must have been trying to get my mind off of things. This guy was just full of random surprises, and I kind of liked it. Nodding, I answered him.

"Yeah… Yeah, I do wanna know. Do we, you know, turn into big hairy monsters or something like that? Because I might freak out if that actually happens." Justin laughed and I felt myself smile, realizing that I must sound like a totally girly man.

"No, no, we don't turn into monsters or anything like that. But we do experience changes. We become more animalistic – some of us can change into wolves, like real, live wolves that live around here and other parts of the country – and our senses are intensified. It's the only time that the school allows us to really let go and be just normal teenagers and all that stuff. Plus, there's a ritual that happens every full moon for each of the five creatures, and ours is pretty awesome."

"It sounds awesome. You've been to one already right? How long have you been here anyway?"

"I've been here for five and a half months and I've been to five rituals for the full moon. This one will be the best though, because you'll be there." He grinned, making him look like a mischievous little boy and I couldn't help the warm feeling that was beginning to rise up inside of me. But that didn't stop the awkwardness of everything that had happened between us in such a short amount of time, and I couldn't stop thinking about the whole mate thing.

"So…since we're, uh, mates and all, does the full moon have any effects on…uh, _that_?" Justin tilted his head to the side and he stared at me, thinking. Then he frowned slightly and shrugged.

"I really don't know. I mean, I've never seen a mated pair do it during a full moon, but I've heard that it happens a lot. Heath told me that during his seventh full moon, he and Zeke actually did it, but I'm not sure if he was pulling my leg or not. He's still kind of sore at me for pranking him last month." My face must have paled because Justin was quick to explain more to me.

"Don't worry, John. I know you're not…comfortable with being my mate and all just yet, so we won't do it or anything like that. Not until you're ready. Though I will be thinking about it. A lot," he shrugged and grinned his little boy grin at me and said, "I am a teenager and all. Hormones and stuff like that."

I laughed and shook my head. Aside from the fact that we were currently living and attending Hell High and going through a life altering change that we would either make or die from, Justin did remind me of a typical teenage boy. It was kind of endearing on a weird I'm-still-in-shock-and-don't-really-know-how-to-handle-it kind of way. Justin grinned and bumped his shoulder against mine, his soft brown eyes sparkling.

"I like it when you laugh. It makes you look so happy and you look hot when you're happy and smiling." He leaned against me and nuzzled my neck for a split second before he pulled away and stood up.

"Did you want to take your shower now? It's getting kind of late and classes start at eight in the morning. You're in all of my classes so it shouldn't be too bad." I stared up at him, astounded at how calm he could be after he nuzzled my neck. Okay, it wasn't uncomfortable or bad or anything like that. Actually, I kind of liked what he did, but what worried me was the fact that I didn't want him to stop. I wanted him to keep nuzzling my neck, and I probably wouldn't have minded if he did more. Instead of telling him all of this, like I kind of, sort of wanted to, I nodded at his question and stood up.

"Yeah. A shower sounds real good right now. I'm kind of tired and stuff and I could definitely use a nice hot shower and some sleep."

Walking over to my closet, I opened it up and gasped. My clothes! All of my clothes were in the closet, hanging up or packed neatly into the cupboards. Justin laughed and I felt the urge to growl and glare at him. But I didn't. Grabbing my orange and white glow in the dark ghost pajama pants – because they were the most convenient and appropriate, all things considered – and an old t-shirt and I closed the closet door and made my way to the bathroom. Closing and locking the door, I laid my pajamas on the bathroom counter and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale and had ugly dark circles under the eyes. Bringing my right hand up, I turned it around so that I was looking at my mark in the mirror.

I just couldn't get over the fact that I had been Selected and that this mark was either going to fill in and be completed when I reached Completion or that it would either be the death of me. Still, even with those two options, the mark was unique, and I found myself kind of liking how it looked on my hand. Shaking my head, I stripped myself bare and stepped into the tub, drawing the curtain and turning the showerhead on. Hot water immediately began to rain down upon me and I closed my eyes and moaned softly, enjoying the warmth of the water. It helped relax me and ease some of the stress and tension out of my body, leaving me thoroughly relaxed and calmed. Grabbing a shower pouf, I cleaned myself before washing my hair.

Turning the water off, I stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and started drying myself off. Once I was dry, I put my pajamas on and left the bathroom. Justin was already in his bed, curled up underneath his blankets and appearing to be sound asleep. Yawning, I crawled underneath my own blankets and curled up on my side, facing away from Justin. Finally, at long last, the day was over and tomorrow would be an entirely different experience, one that I wasn't too sure that I wanted to participate in even though I knew I had to. Before I felt asleep, I felt rather than heard Justin approach me and hug me, whispering good-bye and telling me how happy he was that I had finally arrived. With those last words swirling about in my head, I fell into a deep sleep.

/

I was awakened by Justin pouncing on me, almost knocking me out of the bed. Pushing him off of me until he fell onto the floor, I sat up and groaned, holding my stomach. Damn! He landed hard. Grumbling, I glared down at him and he gave me a disgruntled look. Snorting, I pulled the covers off of me and stood up, stretching and yawning, trying to wake up before I started on Justin.

"What the heck was that, Justin? Do you have a fetish for jumping on me or something?" He sighed and shook his head before he stood up and went over to his closet.

"Although I love jumping on you and your hot body, the reason why I jumped on you was because you wouldn't wake up."

"Huh?" I turned away from my closet with a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket in my hands.

"The alarm didn't wake you up. And when I shook you, you still didn't wake up, so I had only one option left." Rolling my eyes, I stripped out of my pajamas and started putting my clothes, completely ignoring the fact that Justin was staring at me hungrily.

"Why didn't you just pour cold water on my face?" Justin frowned and then groaned, leaning back against the closet door.

"I didn't think of that…." Laughing at him, I shook my head and grabbed some socks, putting them on before I put my shoes on.

"So… Uh, do I get a class schedule or something like that?" Justin pulled his shirt over his head and grinned at me before he picked a sheet of paper off of his desk and handed it to me.

"Yep. All of your classes are with me. There are five classes per semester, and school goes all year round. You're dumped up a grade when you complete all of the classes in your current year. And when you reach Completion, you no longer have to take classes or anything like that." I nodded and looked at my schedule.

From eight to ten was Werewolf Sociology 101, followed by Introduction to Folklore G.E. from ten-ten to twelve-ten. Lunch was from twelve-ten to one. After lunch was History of the Wolf 101 from one-ten to two-thirty and then I had G.E. Physical Education 1 from two-forty to three-forty. And finally, from three-fifty to five I had Sociology. Alright, I was definitely surprised, yet pleased, by my class schedule. These classes were definitely different from my old school's classes, and they seemed way more interesting. I was actually looking forward to going to class by the time Justin and I had gathered our school books and left our dorm room.

Walking down the hallway, I heard the voices of the other werewolf teenagers before I actually saw them. Just like Mr. McMahon had told me, the dorm was just for guys, so it was kind of weird to see just guys in the common room. But I had little time to actually care as Justin dragged me over to the kitchenette area and opened one of the cabinets, grabbing two cereal bars, one of which he gave to me before he closed the cabinet door and started unwrapping his own bar. I followed suit and soon we weren't the only ones in the kitchen grabbing breakfast. Some guys grabbed boxes of cereal or cereal bars like we had while others grabbed fruits or just a drink. I was about to comment on how healthy the food was when a tall ginger haired teen came over to us and threw his book bag up onto the counter, sighing in relief.

"God, this is thing is heavier than hell. 'Sup Justin? This your new…roommate?" His eyes looked me over for a split second before they turned to Justin, his eyebrows waggling mischievously. Justin smiles at him and threw his wrapper away.

"Not much. How're you, Heath? And yeah, this is John. John this is Heath, my best friend. He's in his second year."

"Soon to be third. Nice to meet you John. I've heard…a lot of gushing 'bout you." Heath grinned at Justin who merely shrugged and patted my shoulder, giving it a slight caress before he dropped his hand.

"Shut up. Where's Zeke?"

"He's still getting ready. God, I think he takes longer than me to get ready."

"I highly doubt that. Sounds like he woke up late." Heath was about to reply when a burly, black guy came up behind him and jabbed both of his sides. Sucking in a hiss, Heath turned around and glared at the guy, who I was assuming was Zeke, and started to go off on his, his accent going out of control.

"We'd better get going before those two get too loud and obnoxious," Justin said as he grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the kitchen, "See you guys at lunch!"

And with that, we left the werewolf guys' dorm and headed to our first class of the day.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Sorry for taking forever to update. Luckily though, things are starting to clear up school wise. So, here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Nine**

"So that's Heath?" I asked as Justin and I walked down the hallway that led to our first class of the day, Werewolf Sociology 101.

"Yeah. We met on my first day here. It was kind of weird and intense when I first arrived, but Heath made me feel comfortable and accepted me even when most of the guys made it clear they didn't want me here." I glanced at him. He looked serious and sad, maybe even a little angry. It felt kind of wrong considering that, on his first day, he would have been new and stuff, so why would he be angry about it?

However, I didn't say anything and, instead, I just followed him as we walked to class. Other students were walking throughout the various hallways, chattering, getting to class, or just hanging out in the corridors. Some had the same mark I had. Others had four circles on their necks marking them as vampyre fledglings while others had odd, unfilled marks around their eyes – seers and mind flayers – or the outline of a five on their foreheads – witches and warlocks. And then there were some who appeared to have no marks at all. I was surprised and more than puzzled when Justin pulled me into a classroom, one that was only just beginning to fill up.

The classroom probably appeared normal to other students and to werewolves who had reached Completion, but to me, it looked so out of ordinary and bizarre that I nearly laughed. Hanging beside the chalkboard was a calendar that labeled all of the phases of the moon – and even the best days for fishing – while the chalkboard itself had an outline on what was going to be discussed in class today along with a reminder of the next full moon ritual. On the walls were posters of famous werewolves such as Garrett Hedlund and Zoe Saldana as well as posters of famous movies and books that 'portray' werewolves. Bright sunshine was flittering in from the open windows and made the white wolf skull that sat on the counter gleam in the light (eesh, a wolf skull. Really?). Littering the counter shelves were Werewolf Sociology books and works of famous literature that portrayed werewolves including _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._ There weren't any single desks in the classroom; instead, there were tables that sat three students at a time and a wide variety of chairs, some computer chairs, some normal school chairs. I didn't even realize I was grinning like a complete idiot until Justin, laughing at my expression, grabbed my hand and maneuvered us to one of the tables.

"So, were you not expecting this?" Justin asked me as we sat down at our table and began unloading his school stuff.

"Honestly, I was expecting something dark, dank, and depressing. This is so not any of those things. I kind of like it." Justin nodded and he grinned.

"That's what I was expecting when I first arrived here, only more along the lines of a dungeon scenario. It's actually nice to be in a normal classroom and stuff."

Kids continued to file into the classroom until the bell rang, signaling the start of class. Everyone was taking their seats and getting ready for class when a tall, thin man with auburn hair entered the classroom, laughing at something someone out in the hall had said. Waving them good-bye, he closed the door and beamed at everyone. Other kids smiled back at him while some scoffed and ignored him, but he didn't seem to mind either way. When his eyes fell on me, he nodded and understanding filled his eyes.

"John Cena. So glad that you're here, considering your accident. Everything okay?" Taken aback by his demeanor and the fact that he knew about my accident, I hesitated, which was a big mistake. Almost every student in the classroom turned to look at me and I felt my stomach roll over. God, I probably shouldn't have eaten that cereal bar.

"Everything's fine. Thanks."

"Good! Glad to hear. I'm Professor Jensen. If you would please, go ahead and grab a textbook off of the shelf. Be prepared to take a lot of notes, John. There's a quiz every other day in this class."

Nodding, I reached over and grabbed a textbook, thankful that Justin picked a table close to the counter where the books were held. Looking up at the chalkboard, I saw Professor Jensen begin to write next to his outline. It gave me a clear view of his mark, which was filled in and expanded like every adult werewolf's mark. Aside from it being complete, there were also odd little circles with weird shading within them. They wrapped around his wrist and continued up into the sleeve of his shirt, which hide the rest of them.

"Okay class, as I told you yesterday, we will begin discussing Anya Bischoff and her involvement in werewolf society and culture in the early nineteenth century…"

As Professor Jensen continued to talk, he wrote notes on the board for us to copy and had us read excerpts from the textbook. There was so much that I really had no damn clue about, even though I thought I knew a little bit about werewolves, vamps, and stuff like that. But really, I had been a fool; I barely had a grasp on anything about werewolves, and I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of myself. I didn't dwell on the feeling for too long thought because the material we went over wasn't like anything I'd ever learned about before. It wasn't hard to stay focused and engrossed in the subject at hand; everything was so new and different from my old school.

It was hard to believe that two hours had passed, but sure enough the bell rang and class ended. Professor Jensen gave us an essay on Anya Bischoff and her legendary riot that gave birth to the first Russian Hell High. Gathering up my things, I look over at Justin, who had remained quiet and mostly attentive during the class. He looked subdued, like he was thinking quietly to himself. Without really thinking about it, I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. Justin looked at me and tilted his head to the side, as though he were a confused puppy.

"Something wrong, John?"

"No. You just seem out of it. Are you okay?" Justin smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes and he didn't hold it for very long.

"Yeah. Just can't stop thinking about my first day. Anyway, how'd you like class?" It was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it, so I went along with his sudden change of topic.

"It was actually interesting! So not like my classes at my old school. Are all of them like this?" Justin grinned, looking more like himself, and he nodded as we left the classroom and made our way to Intro to Folklore.

"Oh yeah. Especially this next class. It's my favorite and we're starting our Native American unit today, so it's going to be good! Professor Orenda's part Native American and she's great. Her markings are pretty neat too." We hurried down the hall and made a right before we came to Intro to Folklore. We grabbed a table near the front of the class and sat down. As I looked around the room, I noticed that this class, unlike my last class, wasn't made up of just werewolf students. There were vamp fledglings, seers, witches/warlocks, and other students that apparently had no marks.

"Hey Justin, who are the kids that have no marks?"

"Oh. The guys are shape shifters while the girls are morphers. They have marks, but they're located over their hearts, which is why you can't see 'em. Although some of the girls like people to see them a little too much for my taste."

Justin scowled and he glared at one particular girl. She was blonde and very pretty, almost like Barbie brought to life. And she was staring right at me with a flirty smile on her face. Rolling my eyes, I shook my head and faced forward. Didn't girls have gay-dar or something like that? Could they automatically tell that I was gay? Apparently not. I heard Justin growl beside me and I looked at him in time to see him mouth _He's mine_ to the blonde he had been glaring at. She glared back at him and he almost snarled and got up when the door opened and the teacher walked in.

Professor Orenda was obviously part Native American, with her high cheek bones and her tanned skin, but that wasn't what stood out most about her. What stood out most was the completed five on her forehead and the additional tattooing was of multiple diamonds that reached over her cheek bones and down to her chin. Inside of those diamonds were small diamonds with a dot in the center of them. Although I had no idea what they meant, they looked pretty cool and they matched her and her Wiccan status perfectly. She beamed at us and, before she started the lesson, she grabbed the textbook that had been sitting on her desk and handed it to me, smiling down at me gently.

"Merry meet, John. I'm glad you're here with us at long last. We're going to start our Native American unit today," she told me before she addressed the class as a whole and said, "Open your textbooks to page one hundred and thirteen. We'll begin the lesson with the _Flying Head_."

We spent a good hour and a half copying notes from the board and listening to Professor O regale us with tales of monsters to thunder birds to skinwalkers. As she read and explained to us, she explained where she came from and why she chose her name and what her marks meant (Medicine Man's Eye, which is so totally cool!). For the final portion of class, we took a quiz on the topics covered, and it was the most interesting, though difficult, quiz I had ever taken. Needless to say, I was in high spirits when the bell rang, ending the class and beginning lunch. Together, Justin and I made our way to the cafeteria, or the dietary as it was actually called, talking the entire way.

"You were right, Justin. Professor O is pretty awesome, and her markings are so neat and spiffy." He smirked at me and raise his eyebrows. Rolling my eyes, I opened the door to the dietary and we entered.

"Don't make fun of my vocabulary Justin. I mean it. Bad things happen to those who make fun of it." He laughed, and I felt better as I realized that he finally looked like himself again.

"Okay, okay. I won't say anything except that it's pretty wei-" I gave him a look and he gave me his bad boy grin before continuing, "unique. It's unique."

"Yeah, okay." I turned let the door go and turned around. The dietary was made up of glass walls and doors, out of which I saw the auditorium lobby. To the left of us, a few feet away, was a door that led out to a nice courtyard complete with a fountain and various benches and flora. On the right were numerous booths and tables that could fit anywhere from two to seven kids at a time. All of the booths and tables were situated around a large, serve-yourself buffet that had stuff for salad, soup, tacos, pasta, and a bunch of other healthy stuff. Justin led me to the buffet and he grabbed himself a tray and a plate. Following suit, I scanned the buffet and decided on some pasta. Why not? I deserved it. And besides, I had Italian in my genes anyway, so it was practically a crime for me to not eat pasta. After we had grabbed our food, I followed Justin as he made his way to a booth where a short brunette was already sitting, eating his soup and scanning his book, looking so forlorn and sad that it wasn't even funny. We sat down and Justin introduced me to him.

"Evan, this is John, my new roommate and friend. John, this is Evan Bourne. He's in his third year here and a warlock, as you can obviously see." I smiled at him and he tried to smile back, but failed.

"Hey Evan. What's wrong?" I couldn't help myself. The kid – who was actually older than me – just looked so down and like he was about to burst into tears.

"Chris broke up with me. Again. For good this time." Justin's frown of concerned turned to blatant anger and he growled.

"Why would he do that? I thought the school made a special exception for the two of you? So why would he go and fuck it up? You two were made for each other, even without the school seer reporting it." Evan shook his head and sniffed, biting his lip in a poor attempt at keeping the tears at bay. It didn't work. They started to fall and he shrunk in on himself, releasing his spoon and closing his book.

"He…he said that he-he didn't want to be with a…a kid like me! That he wanted his….his wife and….and kids back. God, I've been so stupid!" At that moment, Heath and Zeke showed up and sat down, and immediately, Heath asked him what was going on. All that did was cause Evan to cry even harder and Justin explained what was going on.

"But it's obvious Chris loves you! He doesn't give rat's ass 'bout his ex-wife, and his kids have already met you and they love you! So why on earth….?" Heath didn't continue because, at that moment, another kid showed up, though he didn't sit down. Instead, he looked down his nose at Evan, who was a blubbering mess and sneered at him in disdain while the guys behind him smirked and snicker.

"What's wrong Baby Bourne? Got something in your eye?" Justin glared up at the kid and growled.

"Go the fuck away Punk! He's had a rough day and he sure as hell doesn't need you to make it worse for him." Punk sneered at Justin, who all but tried to jump on him. He would have had it not been for Zeke, who had restrained him and was trying, and failing, to calm him down. Laughing at Justin and Zeke, Punk turned to look at me and his smirk widened.

"You must be John Cena. Our boy Gabriel here hasn't shut up about you for months. Thank God you're here. You can give him a piece of ass and calm him down for the rest of us. Though I have to say, I pity you. The mate you're stuck with makes every werewolf look bad."

"Shut the fuck up Punk! No one fucking asked you and you know damn well that if I let Justin go, he'll kick your ass like there's no tomorrow." Zeke hissed at Punk.

"Yeah. Do you need a repeat of the June Incident, where he kicked you in your tiny nuts and shoved your head down a toilet. Tell me, how does toilet water taste?" Heath's southern accent, coupled with his fake smile, made Punk scowl and his gaze returned to Justin.

"I'll leave you guys alone for now. Keep your panties on, Gabriel." Looking down at me, he said, "I feel bad for you. It's going to be rough, mating with the son of Paul Lloyd. Just be careful he doesn't fly off the handle and kill you. As they say, like father, like son."

And with that, Punk and his goons left, leaving Justin steaming and Evan bawling. Sighing, Heath got up and went over to Evan, forcing him to stand and taking him away, mumbling something about going to the bathroom and cleaning him up. Zeke shook his head and turned to his taco salad, grabbing his tortilla chips and crushing them, sprinkling them on the salad. Justin started calming down; his heaves turned into pants and he looked away from Punk's table and turned to his pasta, glaring at it as though he could kill it.

Aside from an occasional grumble or growl from Justin and the sounds of chewing, it was completely quiet at the table. The tension was so thick that I could almost see it. That Punk guy… He had no right to talk to Evan like that, to make fun of him and kick him when he was already down. Why would he do something like that anyway? It was then that a blonde girl sat down next to me, practically throwing her tray of salad on the table. Plopping down, she sighed and ran a hand through her long blonde hair. She looked at me, then at Justin, then at Zeke before she shook her head and scowled.

"Let me guess. Punk decided to be an ass and take his small penis frustration out on Evan, right?" I nearly choked on my pasta. Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that.

"Yeah. And Evan was already crying 'cause of his break up with Chris." She shook her head and viciously stabbed at her lettuce.

"Figures. Chris is an ass too. Evan could do way better."

"It's not just that, Beth. He brought up Justin's dad. Again." Justin frowned and he looked down, his face growing red with anger and embarrassment. What the hell was going on here? Paul Lloyd…that name sounded familiar. That must be Justin's dad's name.

"Who's Paul Lloyd?" The question was out of my mouth before I had time to think. Beth and Zeke looked at me, shock displayed clearly on their faces, while Justin snarled and slammed his fist on the table, looking incredibly frightening and not like himself. Beth spoke up, her voice hesitant and gentle, trying not to upset Justin any further while trying to explain things to me.

"Paul Lloyd was the man responsible for murdering almost thirty-seven werewolf men, women, and children in Cape Town, South Africa back in March. He's also Justin's father."

A/N: Cliff hanger! So, I hope you liked this chapter. I'm considering creating a live journal account for all of the extras and bonus material for my wrestling stories that I've posted on here. What do you guys think of the idea?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Aren't I just so naughty, giving you lot a cliff hanger like that? If I could, I'd post a 'hurr' face on here that way so you guys could punch me. Only joking! I'm in a surprisingly good mood considering the dummies I have to work with tonight. Oh well. Here's another chapter! R&R. Enjoy (and please don't punch me)!

**Chapter Ten**

Lunch went by fast, and I was more than happy for the bell to ring. After Beth told me about Justin's dad, it remained quiet and tense all throughout lunch and it was way more than just awkward. Evan and Heath didn't come back, but Evan had been incredibly upset when he left. I just hoped that he'd be okay. He seemed like a really nice and sweet kid, and I hoped that things would start to look up for him soon.

After lunch ended, Justin and I walked in silence to our next class, History of the Wolf 101. This was the only class so far that had individual desks. We sat down by a pair of desks near the window. As soon as the bell rang and everyone was in their seats, the teacher entered the room. He wasn't very tall – five foot seven at the most – and he had black hair and blue eyes. I didn't see the wolf mark on his right hand like I had on my other professor who taught Werewolf Sociology, and I was wondering what he was when I spotted the four filled in circles on his neck and the vines and leaves that wrapped around his neck in an odd, yet intriguing fashion. I was so preoccupied by his markings that I didn't even realize he was speaking until he spoke my name.

"John Cena. It's nice to meet you. I'm Professor Stein. Welcome to Hell High. Grab a textbook and open it to page ninety-seven please."

Looking up at him, feeling like a complete idiot, I mumbled a quiet 'nice to meet you too' and grabbed a textbook and opened it up. The illustrations and titles that had been covered so far looked so fascinating and interesting that I found myself actually wanting to read the material. But I'd have to do that later, on my own time. Turning to the desired page, I read the title of the unit we were about to study: _The Wolf in the Nineteenth Century._ Professor Stein started the lecture once everyone had turned to the first chapter (_The Ukraine Riots_) of the unit, and we began taking notes. Although he was strict and right to the point, Professor Stein held my attention throughout the entire period, and by the time the bell rang, I was more than eager to read the sections I had missed. I mean, when he talked about what the citizens of Kiev did when they found out about the pack of werewolves that had taken up residency in the city – which involved a lot of blood and death – the whole class was on the edge of their seats, me included.

All in all, it was a pretty good class, and I was looking forward to actually writing the short essay that was due tomorrow. Justin and I left the classroom and I followed him down the hall, frowning at him. All through class, he had been tense and quiet, and he definitely hadn't been paying attention to the lecture or the chapter we covered. I felt bad; I mean, that guy, Punk or whatever, had really gotten to him and it didn't make things better when I asked about his dad. Before we made it out the doors to go to our P.E. class, I grabbed his hand and forced him to stop. Looking at him, his soft brown eyes finally sparked with signs of life and he gave me an incredibly brief, and incredibly fake, smile. Sighing inwardly, I pulled him into the nearby boys' bathroom, making sure that no one stopped to gawk at us like we were freaks or something.

"Hey, I'm sorry about lunch. I didn't know about your…," I paused, not entirely sure what to say. So, I decided to be honest with him. "I didn't know about your dad and what he did, and I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry." Justin sighed and hung his head, shaking it before he looked at me. Pain, anger, and sadness filled his soft brown eyes and I felt myself wanted to reach out and console him. I would have too had it not been for him crossing the few spaces between us and backing me up against the bathroom wall.

"It's not your fault, John. You have nothing to be sorry for. Punk's what upset me, not you, so don't worry about it. I'm sorry I freaked you out; I didn't mean to scare you and stuff."

He leaned in and nuzzled my neck, sighing against my skin softly. My heart jumped up into my throat and began beating rapidly. Part of me wanted to nuzzle back, to hold him, to do something, anything, to comfort him while another part of me was fighting the other part. After all, I didn't know him very well and, although he was attractive, I liked Dave. Didn't I? To be honest, I hadn't even thought about him since I left him last night, and I hadn't even bothered to check my phone for text messages or missed calls. Shit. But all thoughts of Dave were pushed out of my mind when Justin nipped at my neck softly, making my chest rumble with happiness and desire. And then, his lips found mine and we shared a soft, hesitant kiss that made me melt a bit and crave more. His lips were warm and soft, and when they touched mine I realized that he was trembling. Whether it was because of what happened at lunch or because of what was happening now, I didn't know, but I knew that, although I was starting to like Justin, I shouldn't have been kissing him. It was fair to Dave, to Justin, or to myself, so I pulled away, feeling oddly at a loss when I separated from him.

"We should get to class." Justin sighed and nodded before he looked up at me.

"I like you John. A lot. And not just because you're my mate. And I know you're hesitant and unsure, so I'm willing to give you all the time you need. Just note that it'll be hard for me. I haven't felt normal ever since my father…did what he did, and you're the only one who's made me feel entirely at peace for once." Not knowing exactly what to say, I nodded.

"Thanks. I do need some time. I'm not going to lie: I like you, but I don't know if it's like a friend or something more. I'm sorry." He nodded and backed away from me.

"And you still like that Dave guy right?" I heard the jealousy in his voice and it made me smile a little bit. It was cute, seeing him worked up over Dave, but I didn't say it out loud. The truth was that I did still like Dave, even though we haven't hung out or acted like friends in a while. His visit last night made me rethink everything about our relationship, and I couldn't just push my oldest and best friend out of my mind.

"Yeah, I do. But right now, I just want to make it through my first day, get my homework done, and try to fit in here and get back to normal as much as possible." Opening the bathroom door, I walked out into the hallway with Justin behind me. We made our way out the doors and to our P.E. class, talking about the homework that was due tomorrow and wondering what was going to be made for dinner.

Professor Skyle, who was an adult werewolf with markings that looked like swords wrapping around his arm all the way up to his shoulder, made us do warm ups for a good twenty minutes before he had us start on archery exercises. Justin told me, as we were doing figure eights on the field and track bleachers during warms ups, that they started the archery unit last week. He told me that the next unit we'd start would be soccer and I nodded, feeling more normal than I have been all day. Yes, all of my classes thus far were interesting, unique, and totally cool, but gym class made me feel as though I were back home and at my old school. So I was liking gym class a lot by the time Coach – which was what Professor Skyle told me to call him – told us to go back to the locker rooms and change before class ended. A few students who were looking a little under the weather stayed behind to talk to him after he told us to hit the showers, some looking incredibly worried, even frightened. Nudging Justin, I pointed over to them as we headed back towards the gym.

"What's up with them?" Justin looked over at them and frowned.

"Looks to me like a few of them are sick."

"So they're getting permission to go to the nurse's office?" We entered the gym and turned right, heading towards the boys' locker room.

"Not quite. Usually when a student starts getting sick and out of shape, it means that their body is rejecting being Selected and if they don't start getting better, they die." I felt my face pale. The entire world knew that not everyone who was Selected made it to Completion; some, mainly those Selected as seers, shape shifters, and morphers, died before making it that far since their change was more mental and stuff than the change made by werewolves and vampires. But still…

"How many students have died while you've been here?" I asked Justin as we entered the locker room and grabbed our clothes before changing.

"None that I can recall. Although I was a bit preoccupied with…a lot, so I really didn't notice anything like that for a few weeks."

Once we had cleaned ourselves up and changed, we waited for the bell to ring before leaving the gym and heading to our fifth and final class: Sociology. I had a feeling that it was going to be a mixed class, like Folklore, and I was hoping to see some familiar faces. When we walked into class, Beth waved at us from her seat in the second row and we made our way over. Like the first few classes I had, there were tables instead of individual desks, so it was the three of us at our table in the second row. As students began filing in, I recognized a few of them, including the Barbie blonde who had ticked Justin off earlier. Groaning, Justin banged his head on the table while Beth snorted and shook her head.

"Some people just can't reject being Selected, can they?" Beth asked as she shook her head when Barbie sat down at the table beside ours. Justin turned his head to face Beth and I could hear the pout in his voice as he replied.

"Kelly was bein' all flirty and stuff with John earlier and the skank just won't go and blow up. Beeeeeth, you need to kick her." I tried, and failed, to hide my laughter at Justin's whiney tone of voice.

"Kick her were, Justin?" Beth smirked at him and he lifted his head off of the table.

"Kick her in her nasty spider web."

"I hope you mean the one between her legs."

"I do." At that moment, the bell rang and the teacher walked in, closing the door and turning to us. Her thick black hair fell in waves to her waist and her right eye had a blood red spot over her eye that had three wing-like curves steaming out from it. She looked at me and nodded.

"Welcome to Sociology, Mr. Cena. I take it you have a book?" Beth handed me a book and I nodded, sending her a brief thank-you smile.

"Yeah. I'm covered." The teacher nodded and move to her desk.

"Good. I'm Professor Hasannova. Now, class, let's begin today's lesson."

Out of all of my classes, Sociology was the most boring, and it wasn't really that boring. The thing was that I had already taken Soc my freshman year in high school, so I already knew the material. But I still paid attention to what we were going over, and mainly because Professor Hasannova scared me. Seriously, she was nice, but she looked like she'd have no problem biting my head off if she caught me drifting. Towards the end of the lesson, Professor H started explaining how everything we covered in class related to the five different species. That was when things got interesting, and I was kind of sad to go by the end of it.

When the bell rang, Beth, Justin, and I walked back to the dormitory areas, talking about anything and everything. It was nice, walking with them and chatting on the way; it felt normal. Eventually, we parted ways with Beth and walked to our dorm, going to our room to drop off our bags before dinner. As soon as we walked into the common area of our dorm, however, we noticed that everyone was crowded around the TVs, watching the news. Heath spotted us and waved us over, looking pale and uncomfortable. Justin looked over at me and shrugged and we made our way over to him.

"What's going on?" Justin asked. Heath pointed to the news broadcast and we both turned to watch the headlining story.

_"I repeat, the decapitated body of Michael Vasel has been found by Coal Creek a few miles away from the high school. He was identified by his varsity jacket and drivers' license found in his wallet. There have been no leads to who could have committed this heinous crime and the police have yet to name any person of interest thus far…"_

"Damn…That's a shame. He was kinda cute, in a white hick sort of way." Justin and I both sent Heath a pointed look, which he ignored.

"He was on the football team. Michael was Dave's friend…" Oh. My. God. The realization suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. Michael, Dave's friend, had just been murdered. Oh. My. God.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So I went through with making the live journal account for the bonus material and whatnot for my stories. Its .com Go and have a look see; after all, I made it for you guys. Anyway, here's the next chapter! R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Eleven**

After seeing the news broadcast, I bolted to my dorm room and nearly ripped my phone and it's charger out of the outlet. Going to my contacts, I found Dave's number and pressed the green phone button, calling him. Justin rushed in behind me and closed the door, locking it. Panting and feeling more than a little sick, I sat down on the bed and waited, getting impatient at just hearing the same damn ringing. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Dave answered his phone. He sounded rough and raw, like he had been crying, which made sense all things considered.

"John?" Over the phone, he sounded like a little boy, frightened and scared and needing a friend.

"Hey Dave. I just…I just heard the news…about Michael…" He sighed heavily, and I know that, if I had been there with him, he'd be nodding.

"Yeah… He went missing last night. I just thought he had gotten in a fight with his parents and drove off. I never thought… God, John, who would do something like that? And to a kid?" I bit my lip, not sure how to answer.

"I don't know, Dave. I honestly don't. How's his family holding up?"

"His mom and dad are messed up beyond belief, and his sisters aren't doing too well either. It was intense when they called me and let me know what was up…"

"How are you holding up?" Dave sighed. I felt for him; I really did. I mean, I know that if anything happened to Dan or any of my other brothers, I'd be a bawling, snotting mess on the floor. Yes, I realize that that isn't the manly thing to do and I don't care.

"He was a close friend… Michael could be an ass, but he was a cool guy. I just hope that they find…well, you know, so his family can bury him, all of him. I don't think they'd find closure if they couldn't do that."

"Yeah, I know. I'm really sorry he's dead, Dave. Is there anything I can do?"

"Can I see you? Sometime soon? I mean, I know you need to live at that school, but can't we just…go somewhere and hang out?"

I sighed inwardly, not really know what to say. The usual expectation for a Selected student when they moved to a Hell High school was that they, for the most part, they leave their old life, their human life, behind them in order to start a new one. And yes, that meant leaving behind friends and family alike. But I wasn't planning on leaving Dan or Matt or my other brothers behind at all; in fact, I know that I'll be missing them like crazy sooner rather than later, but what about Dave? Dave's my oldest and closest friend; the only one I've ever had, actually. Maybe we wouldn't have made up had it not been for my being Selected, but that didn't change my feelings for him.

And then, there was Justin. I've barely known him for a day. When I first met him, he completely and totally freaked me out and even pissed me off, but I was beginning to get comfortable around him. I mean, sure, he said that we were destined to be mates and all, but did that effect what I felt for him? To be honest, I'm not sure. But I am getting comfortable around him and I'm getting to know him and, through him, getting to know other kids here at school. This school was my home now, until I reached Completion or until I died, but either way, it was my home. Knowing that I had one person here with me, who would be helping me through a lot of difficult stuff that came with being Selected, made me feel better about everything that had been going on.

But did that outweigh my feelings for Dave? I don't know, not yet anyway. I felt the bed dip down beside me and I looked over and saw Justin staring at me with sad, soft brown eyes. Even though I didn't really know much about him as a person, and even though things had gotten off on the wrong foot, Justin was my only support here right now, at least until I got used to everything and made stronger connections to other students. Could I just leave him here and go see Dave to comfort him? Things could lead to different outcomes if I did and, honestly, I didn't want to leave. Perhaps it was because I was starting to like Justin; perhaps it was because I just didn't want to leave. Regardless of the reason, I knew my answer and even though it pained me to say it, it had to be said.

"I don't think that's a good idea Dave. I've got a new life here and, although I really like you a lot, I just…don't know." He stayed silent for a few seconds before responding.

"Okay, I understand. We're still friends though, right?" I released the breath I hadn't know I'd been holding.

"Of course we are."

"Then can we still meet up? I need a best friend; I need you, John." I chewed on my lip for a moment, thinking, before I replied.

"I'll see what I can do, because I don't know if I'll be allowed to leave the school grounds or not. But if I can, we'll plan something and meet up, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks John. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Dave. Get some sleep okay? Bye." I ended the call and placed my phone down on my bed. Neither of us said anything for what seemed like a long time. It was more than awkward and I had no idea what to say. Thankfully, Justin spoke up, breaking the silence and the awkwardness that came along with it.

"I'm sorry that that kid died…" I nodded and sighed heavily, scooting up so that I was leaning against my headboard.

"Thanks. Dave said his family's taking it really hard. And I don't think he's doing all that well either. Michael and him were on the football team for years and they were close." He nodded and looked at me.

"Are you okay?" His question surprised me. I mean, sure, I knew Michael from school, but we were definitely not friends.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just kind of…disgusted. I mean, who would do that to a teenager?" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me into an abrupt hug, nuzzling my neck and rubbing my back. I laughed softly once before I hugged him back. Although I hadn't known him for a while, I did know that Justin was a touchy-feely kind of guy, and I was okay with that. His body heat poured into me, warming me up and making me feel a bit more stable and relaxed, more so than I had been all day. Hell, the hug just felt right; being in his arms just felt right. Eventually, he pulled away and gave me a small smile, looking over at the alarm clock.

"It's almost five thirty. Dinner's at six." I nodded and stood up, picking up my phone.

"I think I'm going to go outside and walk around before dinner. I kind of need some fresh air." Justin nodded and stood up, following me out of our dorm room.

"Did you want me to come with you? Keep you company?"

"Nah, I'll be fine. Just save me a seat at dinner, okay?" He nodded and we walked down the hall and entered the common area. Sitting on one of the couches was Heath and Zeke, who waved us over.

"Justin, John! Wanna take a seat over here?" We walked over to them and Justin sat down.

"I'm going on a walk. I'll see you guys a dinner, okay?" Without even bothering to stay for their comments, I walked out of the dorm and took the same path that I had walked the night before when I went outside and unexpectedly met Dave.

Once I was outside, I kept to the sidewalk and followed it as it eventually curved around the corner. Ahead of me was what appeared to be the main entrance of the school. There were cars parked in the spaces provided, and on the empty spaces were the words _staff parking_ painted on in white paint. The brick wall ended and large iron gates stood directly in front of the main lobby of the school. As I looked around, I realized just how large the school actually was. Beyond the iron gate were numerous trees and other plants and I wondered if the portion of forest where the school was now standing had to be cleared by man or was already a clearing. Suddenly, I felt claustrophobic. I didn't like feeling so caged in and, without even really thinking, I stepped off of the sidewalk and stalked towards the gates with a determined spring in my step.

Odds are they were locked, but for some reason, I wanted to go out and walk around the woods. Not far from the school of course, but outside of its walls, just to get rid of this closed-in feeling that was raging inside of me. Taking a deep breath, I reached out and pushed on one of the gates and, miraculously, it opened enough for me to slip through and venture out. Smiling, I slid through sideways and closed the gate behind me. Before me was the rest of the world, sitting stationary, all at my disposal. Feeling a little bit relieved and not as crowded as I had been feeling, I turned left and followed the wall, enjoying the woods around me. Inhaling the scent of trees and earth, I walked slowly along the wall. The sun was starting to set and the light was beginning to dim, but I didn't feel anxious or scared.

When I would go and hang out with Dan, we'd go to our mountain and talk or we'd go walking around the woods at his place. But this wasn't Dan's place, and although I felt comfortable walking out here, I kept to the wall. After walking for about ten minutes, I turned around and started back. The sky above continued getting darker and the creatures of the night were beginning to stir, awakening and calling out to tell the world that they were active yet again. From not too far from me, a few twigs and sticks snapped, and leaves rustled. It didn't bother me until I felt it again; eyes watching me, like yesterday at Dan's. Only when I looked around, I didn't see anything or anyone; I just felt, and at that moment in time I was feeling watched. Growling under my breath, irritated and annoyed, I practically stomped back towards the gate. After the past twenty-four hours of hell, I so did not need someone gawking at me like a weirdo. I had just decided to let hell loose if anyone approached me when I heard it. Or rather, when I didn't hear it.

Before, the woods were alive with the wind and the nocturnal animals just starting to wake up. But now, I heard none of that. In fact, I heard nothing at all, which was what startled me. I mean, I had been starting to get annoyed, but when I stopped walking and just listened, it hit me like a bus. There was no breeze. No animal sounds or calls. Everything was dead silent. Frowning, I started walking again, picking up my pace, when I heard a twig snap. My skin began to crawl. Something was stalking me, following me, watching my every move. As I moved, whatever it was was following along with me, and from not too far from me I could have sworn I saw something move within the shadows of the trees. Fuck this shit; I took off for the gates, running as fast as I could, not looking back and not caring if I was being chased or not. Thankfully, I wasn't too far from the gates.

I arrived at them within a few minutes and I yanked on them, pulling one of them open far enough for me to squeeze through. Once I was instead the school grounds, I closed the gates and started walking at a fast pace back the way I came. When I was on the sidewalk, I stopped and tried to calm myself down. This was ridiculous. Here I was, a newly Selected werewolf teen, and I was acting like a scaredy-cat. For the love of God, I was a man. Well, as much of a man as I could be at this point in time, all things considered. Glaring at nothing, biting my lip, I puffed up my chest and turned around to look back at the gates, planning on yelling in a completely child-like manner (because I'm a man and that's what we do when we're scared), and I came face to face with Mr. McMahon. Practically blowing air in his face, since I wasn't able to yell my totally manly banter of stupidity, my face turned red and I backed away, shocked and surprised to find him standing there, considering that I hadn't even heard him approaching.

"Mr. McMahon! I-I didn't know you were there. Sorry, I was just…uh..."

"Out for a stroll?" He finished for me. Feeling like a stupid moron, I nodded and closed my mouth.

"Yeah. That." He nodded and smiled.

"It's a good time of night for a walk, but considering the recent death of that teenage human, it'd be best for you to not walk alone. There's a murder out there and who knows what else that could be prowling these woods. Besides, it's dinner time and you need to eat something. Can't have too many of you kids dying on my, can I?" Patting my arm, he smiled and walked away, towards the main school lobby.

Nodding at myself, I continued walking until I got to the doors that led to the auditorium lobby and the cafeteria. Before I went inside, I thought about what Mr. McMahon said. What did he mean when he said that he couldn't have too many of us kids dying on him? I shook my head and opened the doors, getting inside and heading towards the cafeteria that was already full of teenagers eating and chatting their night away. I was stressed and shook up and I wasn't thinking clearly. Mr. McMahon was Provost of the school; I had nothing to be concerned about. At least, that's what I told myself. My gut was telling me something completely different though.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: So I'll be starting my new quarter at school this coming week, and I'm extremely happy about the fact that I no longer have class on Saturdays. Seriously folks, I've been bragging about it for the past two weeks (ever since I found out what my school schedule for this upcoming quarter would be) and I just can't stop gushing about it. Also, 110 reviews! Really? You guys are killing me and I love it! Honestly, thank you, each and every one of you, for coming back and reading this story. Your support makes me continue writing, and the reviews are amazing. I'm happy if I reach even one person, but to reach so many of you…it's like WOAH! Anyway… R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twelve**

I entered the cafeteria and walked over to the buffet-style island, grabbing a tray and a glass of tea. My mind kept going over the weird stuff that had happened when I went on my walk. Sighing, I scooped up some spaghetti and grabbed a few breadsticks before I made my way over towards Justin and the others. Sitting down, I noticed that Evan wasn't there and, after saying hi to everyone at the table, I asked about him.

"Where's Evan?" Heath, with a mouthful of spaghetti, answered, nearly spraying all of us with sauce.

"He's not coming. Still not feeling too well. Not that I blame him…" Zeke nodded in agreement while Beth snorted, looking annoyed and angry.

"Fucking Chris… He needs to stop leading Evan on. Ev is such a sweetie; he deserves so much better than Chris." Heath opened his mouth and the conversation continued, but I wasn't paying attention. I kept thinking about my walk and the weird gut feeling that surfaced whenever I thought about bumping into Mr. McMahon. Only when Justin elbowed me gently did I look up from my tray. My eyes met his, and I was kind of shocked to see so much worry and concern held within them.

"Are you okay, John? You've been kind of quiet since you got back from your walk…"

How do I answer that? I mean, it's not like I could say, 'yeah Justin, I'm fine. I just had a freaky run in with a stalker thing out in the woods and, oh yeah, I got a weird feeling in my gut when I bumped into Mr. McMahon'. Uh, yeah right. That wouldn't fly at all. Mr. McMahon was Provost of the school, which meant that he had a lot of power and control as well as respect. No one would believe me if I told them that I thought something was up with him. Plus, I was a newly Selected student; my nerves were probably still shot and I was just over reacting. As far as that stalker thing in the woods goes, it was probably my imagination or something else. At least, that's what everyone would say if word got out. Instead, I shrugged my shoulders and looked away from him.

"I'm okay. Just kind of tired and shit." He nodded and patted me on the shoulder, rubbing his thumb over my shirt gently before he let it fall. His touch left a tingling sensation on my skin and I couldn't help but feel a bit better.

"If you want, we can talk when we get back to our room." Again, I shrugged, stabbing my fork into my spaghetti and twirling the noodles around it.

Dinner went by fast, thank God. Although Heath and Beth were in a heated discussion, I still felt awkward and out of place, mainly because of my walk and my run in with Mr. McMahon. When I finished eating, I took my tray over to the dish area and dropped it off before I left the cafeteria. At first, I was hell bent on going to the dorms; I didn't want to get myself into trouble and I had homework that needed to be finished. But somehow, without my realizing it, my feet had dragged me back outside and towards the front gates. Sighing heavily in defeat, I glared at nothing in particular as I marched over to the gates.

Looking through them, I peered into the dark woods, trying to see something, anything, that could have been my stalker thing. My eyes, once they had adjusted properly, saw nothing, nothing but trees, the occasional squirrel or bird, and some rocks. There were no freaky stalker things out there, at least not right now. Still, even with that verification, I felt creeped out and watched. Huffing, feeling like a complete idiot and fool, I turned around and bumped right into Punk. Hissing, I stepped back away from him until my back hit the iron gates.

"Jesus! What the hell is up with you people at this school? Don't any of you know how to make a sound or _something_ to tell me that you're there?" Punk didn't smirk or sneer or anything like that like I thought he would. Instead, he stared past me into the darkness and woods.

"You shouldn't go out into the woods by yourself. It's not safe for anyone out there. Michael Vasel found that out the hard way." Stunned, I stared at him like I was completely stupid. Punk didn't seem to notice though. He moved the few feet between us and stood beside me as he continued gazing out past the gates. Shaking my head, I recovered from his words and, like a complete dumbass, stumbled over my words.

"W-what? What did you just say?" Turning to me, his eyes pierced mine and I saw no hint of sarcasm or meanness. All that I saw were those haunted eyes and I felt myself go cold. From what, I don't know, but my entire body felt cold.

"Just be careful around our Provost."

Punk glanced back at the woods for a split second before he started walking away, his hands jammed in his jacket pockets and his head down. I followed him until he disappeared into the darkness. Frowning, I turned back to the woods and suddenly felt defensive, as though I was staring at a hostile enemy. Shaking my head, I walked away from the school gates, reprimanding myself for being so stupid and for allowing myself to get dragged into Punk's nonsense. But deep down, I knew that what he had said wasn't nonsense; he was too serious for it to be nonsense. That didn't make me feel any better though, and I was still confused about what he said about Mr. McMahon.

_Just be careful around our Provost._

What the hell did that mean? I just met Mr. McMahon yesterday and I didn't know him all that well. Granted, he gave me a not so good feeling not that long ago when he snuck up behind me, but that was probably just my nerves, right?

Right.

Yeah right. Let's face it: Mr. McMahon gave me a bad feeling overall. A really bad feeling. Like, the feeling you get when you eat those Chicken McNuggets for the first time after not eating McDonalds for a good five months and then you get really random and gross diarrhea. Shuddering at the thought, I headed back inside and towards my dorm room. Maybe I should ask Justin about Mr. McMahon. Finally having some sort of plan, I continued making my way to the dorm, feeling a bit relieved and definitely lighter than I had felt all day.

When I opened the door to our room, I saw Justin sitting at his desk, ear buds firmly in place and his pencil tapping against wolf history book. As his head bopped in time with whatever song was playing, I couldn't help but watch him, thinking how normal this all seemed. Even though we weren't normal and were, in fact, going through a change that could possibly kill us at any given time, it _felt_ normal. And feeling normal made things a bit better. Maybe I was still in some sort of shock; maybe I was just plain paranoid about Michael's death; and maybe I was totally, utterly clueless when it came to the Dave-Justin mess, but having a little bit of normal made some of it bearable. Justin must have sensed my presence because he turned around and smiled at me before pausing his iPod and taking his ear buds out.

"John! You totally missed it. Kelly was talking shit about Beth, right? So Beth got up and dumped the rest of her spaghetti on Kelly's head. Ohmygosh, it was so friggin' epic! And Beth was so totally not punished for it since she said that she tripped and nearly fell. It was great."

Laughing and grinning like a moron, sat down on my bed and grabbed my Werewolf Sociology 101 book and my notebook and opened them up, getting ready to start on my Anya Bischoff essay. Justin got up and sat down beside me, close enough that I could feel his body heat radiating from him, and it warmed me up in no time.

"Are you feeling any better John?" I looked up at him and tried to smile, but it must have failed because he frowned and scooted closer to me.

"You can call me anything John. I won't tell anyone unless you say it's okay." Looking into his soft brown eyes, I saw his concern and sincerity and I realized that, even though I didn't know him all that well, I trusted him. And that was enough for me.

"Mr. McMahon kind of creeps me out." I blurted out like a total genius. Before Justin could respond, I kept going.

"When I went on my walk before dinner, I went outside of the school gates and was following the wall. I felt something watching me so I ran back to the gates and came back inside. Then I ran into Mr. McMahon and he said some things that worried me, still do, and then he left. After dinner, I went back outside and then Punk showed up and he told me something that kind of creeps me out too and I getting really sick and tired of people sneaking up on me and saying weird stuff that I have no clue how to even begin to understand." Heaving a short breath, I stared at Justin, waiting for him to laugh at me and call me crazy. He did neither of those things. Instead, he tilted his head to the side like he always does when he's confused or trying to understand something and he replied.

"What did McMahon and Punk say that worries you?" His voice was soft, understanding, and heartwarming.

"Mr. McMahon said that he couldn't have too many of us kids dying on him. And Punk told me to be careful around him. It was just so weird…and my gut keeps tightening up in knots and stuff whenever I think about it."

Justin pulled me into a hug and he gently nudged my neck, his warm breath caressing my cool skin. I hadn't even realized that I was cold, but I was and I was shivering. Of course, my shivering was probably caused by something more than just the cold. Gently, Justin ran his hand through my hair and I sighed, enjoying his touch. Having him so close, hearing his heartbeat and his breath and feeling his body heat, was calming and I felt myself beginning to relax. Without paying that much attention, I noticed that Justin had maneuvered us so that we were both laying down on my bed. It felt nice, being close to him.

"Justin, do you like Mr. McMahon?" My mouth had a mind of its own, and the question was out in the open before I even had a chance to think about it. He stilled for a moment before he continued running his fingers through my hair.

"To be honest, not really. When I first arrive here, he made a big deal about it because of who my father is. He tried to get me transferred but the reps denied his request to do so. In front of other teachers and students, he nice to me and junk, but when it's just the two of us, he ignores me completely. So no, I don't like him. Heath doesn't like him either, but that's just because of how he treats me."

"Do you ever get a feeling about him in your gut whenever he's around?" Justin stayed silent for a little while, and I thought that he wouldn't answer me when he finally did.

"Yeah, I do. From the moment I saw him, I knew I didn't like him and it wasn't just because of how he treated me. I just had a feeling about him and that was what decided it for me. People have treated me like crap before because of my dad and I haven't disliked them, so I knew that it wasn't just because of that."

"What do you think about Punk and what he said?" Justin growled and pulled me closer, pressing a kiss to my neck as he did so.

"Punk's in his final year and he's been nothing but a dick to me since I arrived here. But, even with all of that, I can't deny that he's incredibly intuitive; more so than any other werewolf in the school. So if there's anything going on with McMahon, then he'd be sure to pick up on it and if he told you to watch yourself, then do it."

I was about to tell him to not boss me around when I grasped my chin gently and forced me to look at him. When my eyes connected with his, I shuddered at the intensity and feeling that was held within them. Although I wanted to drown in that intensity and those feelings, I forced myself to listen to him, even though part of me wanted nothing more than to shut him up with my lips.

"John, we've just met and we barely know each other, but you're my mate and I'm going to look out for you no matter where your path leads. Promise me that you'll be careful around McMahon. I don't trust him and Punk doesn't trust him and that's more than enough reason to be weary of him. So please, _please_, don't do anything rash. If you find something out, tell me about it and we can do something about it together. Just...promise to keep yourself safe." Not knowing what exactly to say, I, of course, went with being a total lamer.

"I promise."

Justin smiled and kissed me before he let me go and went back to his homework. Sitting up, I tried to concentrate on my essay and Anya Bischoff, but my mind kept wandering back to my walk, Mr. McMahon, and Punk. What the hell did I get myself into this time? Dan would probably tell me that I've wedged myself between a rock and a hard place, and he'd be hitting the nail right on the head. Some weird, creepy thing was stalking me. Mr. McMahon, our school's Provost, one of the most powerful and influential people at the school, was probably up to no good. Punk, a complete and totally jerk wad, was incredibly intuitive and one of the few people I could talk about this with. And, to top everything off, I completely forget how I was going to start my Bischoff essay.

Mother-fucking son of a bitch!

A/N: Sorry for taking forever to update. Also, I did create a blog thing for the extras of my stories; the link is on my profile page so if you guys want to check it out, feel free! Go and see what goodies I've posted for you and stuff.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I'm sorry for taking forever to update. The inspiration just…wasn't there. That's not a good reason, but it's the honest one. Anyway, here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirteen**

I fidgeted a bit in my seat, trying to finish writing down notes from off of the board. Tonight was the full moon which meant that tonight was also my full moon ritual. Classes had been shortened significantly so that all five sects could hold their own rituals. Naturally, I was a nervous wreck. Justin had explained more about the ritual last night, but I just couldn't concentrate on what he was telling me. All I got out of it was that there would be a ritual in the temple (whatever that was) and that afterwards there would be a party or something held until eleven, at which time all students except for the vamps had to be in their dorm rooms.

Justin and Heath both told me that it was a blast and loads of fun, but that didn't calm my nerves down any. Especially considering that I was still confused about a) the entire Dave-Justin situation; b) Mr. McMahon; and c) what Punk had told me. I knew that there probably wasn't as much to it as I thought, but I kept rethinking the words both Mr. McMahon and Punk said, trying to decipher any hidden clues that they may have been trying to give me. But nothing came to mind and I just ended up getting a massive headache.

Mix that in with the fact that everyone seemed rowdier and more energetic than usual and, come lunch time, my nerves were shot. It definitely didn't help that that Kelly girl actually tried to hit on me today in our Folklore class. I hadn't been feeling it on my first day of classes and, coupled with a headache and a raging case of nerves, I definitely wasn't feeling it today so I told in to go sit the fuck down and stop bugging me. She looked genuinely hurt by it and I was about to apologize when the hurt turned into an ugly look of anger and loathing and, before I knew it, she had raised her hand and was about to claw at me like a soaked cat. That's when Justin came up behind her and poured the remainder of his water on her, causing her to sputter and yowl like a cat. Before anything else could be said or done, Professor O entered the room, took one look at Kelly, shook her head, and then told her to go get cleaned up and changed.

We could barely stifle our laughter and when we told Beth about it she grinned, looking incredibly mischievous yet evil at the same time (who knew the girl could pull that look off so well?). However, even with all of the excitement, my nerves didn't dwindle; actually, they got worse as the day went on, which is where I'm at right now: sitting in Sociology, squirming around in my seat, probably annoying everyone around me, and trying, and failing miserably, to take notes. My eyes kept glancing at the clock, counting how many minutes I had left before my first full moon ritual. Time practically flew by and before I could even finish my notes, the bell rang. Chatter and laughter broke out immediately as kids grabbed their stuff and left to drop it off in their dorms before going to their respective temples.

Gathering my belongings up, I tried to smile at Justin and Beth, who were both looking excited. Beth gave me a reassuring smile before patting me on the back and leaving the classroom. Although Beth's smile made me feel a little bit better, Justin's smile was able to calm me down a lot more and, as we left the classroom and started towards our dorm, I found myself actually looking forward to ritual.

"It's okay to be nervous John. Everyone is during their first ritual. They think it's going to be really bad or bloody or something like that. It's not though. You'll enjoy it."

"When I asked you about it two nights ago, you said that the full moon ritual was basically a big party." Justin looked at me, confusion tinting his excited expression.

"Yeah. I mean, there's a big formal ritual before hand, but then there's this big bon fire party and-"

Justin's smile went away and he leaned in close, his eyes scanning my face. A slow blush started to spread, for more reasons than just my nerves and his closeness. Suddenly, his soft brown eyes lit up in understanding and his smile was back, making him look much younger than he really was.

"John…do you not like parties?" I was one hundred percent sure that my face was an unattractive tomato red by the time we reached out dormitory. My suspicions were confirmed when he laughed and bumped his shoulder into mine.

"I…I've never been to one."

His laughter ceased and he looked at me with so much surprise that it made me feel even more like a freak. It shouldn't have been all that surprising. I mean, back at my old high school (it's weird that I now think of it as my 'old' high school when I've only been gone for, what, three days?) I wasn't exactly the most popular kid. So it makes sense that I've never been to a party. Granted, even if I had been invited, I would have said no. There would have been drinking, and the last thing I needed was for my dad to crack me one because I smelled like alcohol. Justin, however, must have thought that I was the complete opposite in high school because his shock and surprise didn't die down until we entered our room and dropped out stuff off.

"Are you serious John?" I nodded and he chewed on his lip, looking a bit guilty. Shrugging, I replied as we left our room and walked down the hallway.

"I wasn't a popular kid in high school, Justin. I was in concert choir, so I was automatically labeled a loser." He looked stunned for a second but he recovered from it when Heath and Zeke came up to us in the common area.

"Y'all ready for the ritual? I hear Mr. McMahon is comin' to each ritual to speak to us before it officially starts." My head snapped up and Justin and I both shared a look before Justin spoke up.

"Why is Mr. McMahon doing that? He's never done that before?" Heath shrugged at him while Zeke held the door open, letting us pass through, before the four of us made our way to our temple. Zeke shrugged and wrapped his arm around Heath.

"I heard is was 'cause he wanted to speak about da murder of dat Vasel boy. But, dat was only a rumor so…"

We followed the other Selected werewolf students away from the dormitories and down a hallway I had never been down before. The hallway was long and dark, with no lights on and with no doors or windows. It kind of creeped me out, but having Justin, Heath, and Zeke with me made me feel a whole lot better. As if he could sense my anxiety, Justin grabbed my hand and held onto it, still in conversation with Heath about what food they might serve at the party after the formal ritual. Though the gesture was small, it made a small smile spread across my face and it warmed me up a bit. And then I tried to not look like a grinning fool, but Zeke's eyes caught mine and I knew that I had failed miserably at it.

Following the crowd, we turned right and then left before we continued up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs were the same glass walls that were present all over the school. Looking through them, I saw nothing but darkness and I wondered if they had been painted black when I stepped into the wide, open room and realized that the floor was made of dark brown wood. The rest of the wall was constructed of the same material, making the room look ancient and sacred. There were five large doors made of the same wood as the walls and floor with weird silver knockers on them. On the five doors were the five symbols of each class drawn in gorgeous, sparkling silver.

"Justin…what is this place?" I asked as we followed the rest of the werewolf students to our designated door.

"It's called the Gathering. Past these five doors, we are our own class, but in the wide space before them, we are all equal, gathered here to worship and meet for our rituals." I looked at Heath, kind of surprised that he had answered and had sounded so sure and slightly poetic. Heath grinned, looking incredibly mischievous and bad boyish causing Zeke to shake his head and Justin to smirk.

"Did you just come up with that?" Heath giggled and we walked through our designated doorway. The hallway before us was narrow, long, and winding, made of wood and looking ancient, though it smelled fresh and clean and like new.

"Nah, I memorized that from the student handbook."

"Oh."

Heath and Justin laughed and I joined in after trying to stifle my own giggles. We continued down the hallway until we came to large wooden arch doorway at the end of five wooden steps. On the top of the arch was an odd half moon laying on its side with a howling wolf stemming out of it made of silver. It was flawless and shone brilliantly, making it look sacred and holy. I looked around as we entered the room. Instead of pews or chairs, there were large silver pillows on the floor, all of which surrounded a stand covered in a silvery cloth with candles, an offering bowl, and a chalice on top of it. Following Justin, I sat down on one of the large, silver pillows and gasped at how soft, yet firm it was. After everyone was sitting down and settled in, Mr. McMahon came into the room and automatically caught everyone's attention. When everyone quieted down, he began to speak.

"Good evening. I know that you're all excited for your ritual so I'll keep this short. I'm here to reassure all of you that, in light of recent events, this school is still a safe haven. All of you students as well as the faculty are safe from whoever it is that murdered that human boy a few days ago. That being said, I want you all to think about the human community outside of our walls that's suffering from this loss. Keep them in your thoughts during this full moon ritual. Thank you." And with a small smile, Mr. McMahon left the temple.

I looked over at Justin and, when I caught his eye, he shook his head and rolled his eyes. So, I wasn't the only one who thought that Mr. McMahon's speech was odd. Maybe it was because I hadn't been at Hell High long enough, but it seemed to me as though Mr. McMahon wanted us to take a brief moment to think about Michael Vasel and then move on. That was just too weird for words. But I didn't have time to think about it for too long because four individuals, women all wearing white that made their filled in werewolf markings stand out beautifully, entered the room and stood at the four corners of the table. Picking up four white pillar candles, they stood facing the archway and waited.

Soft flowing music began to play and a fifth person, a man whose markings spread out in weird shapes and patterns from one arm to the next, walked in dressed in white and holding a pillar candle, though it was larger than the other ones. When I squinted at the candles, I saw that each one had a different colored circle in the middle of it: yellow, dark red, blue, green, and black. When the man made it to the table, the music stopped and he placed his candle down on the table and grabbed a pack of matches. Lighting one, he approached the first woman who was holding the candle with the yellow circle on it. She smiled at him and nodded when he smiled back and began to speak.

"Intelligence. Inspiration. Dreams and wishes. Air gives us all of these traits and more. I summon to our ritual Air." He lit the candle and moved on to the next one which was the candle with the dark red circle.

"Energy. Passion. Leadership and love. Fire gives us all of these traits and more. I summon to our ritual Fire." The woman holding the Fire candle nodded as he lit it and moved to the candle with the blue circle.

"Emotion. Purification. Wisdom and femininity. Water gives us all of these traits and more. I summon to our ritual Water." Lighting the Water candle, the man nodded at the woman holding it and walked over to the last woman who was holding the green circled candle.

"Strength. Abundance. Stability and wealth. Earth gives us all of these traits and more. I summon to our ritual Earth." The man lit the Earth candle before he made his way back to his original place and picked up his candle, the one with the black circle on it, and continued.

"Space. Connection. Balance and well-being. Aether gives us all of these traits and more. I summon to our ritual Aether." He lit the candle and turned back to face us. It was only then that I got a good look at his werewolf markings. I nearly gasped when I realized that the weird shapes and patterns were actually symbols of, what I assumed, the five elements he had just summoned. There were swirls, flames, waves, vines, and neatly decorated circles with runes in them.

"The full moon has been celebrated by many cultures and peoples are thousands of years. It brings to us the end of the old and the beginning of the new. It brings to us the opportunity to heal and the power to forgive and grow. Right now, on this Full Moon Rite, we must ask for healing. Dark times are ahead of us, I fear, and the only energies I've felt recently are negative ones. That isn't good. So for this night, my friends and colleagues, I ask that you focus on positive energies and on healing from the loss of Michael Vasel. Although he may not have been Selected, he, just like all of the other humans, was one of us. Mother Earth now cradles him in her bosom, but we shall not forget about his death until his murderer is caught and persecuted." As soon as he had finished his speech, the same music that had played when he entered started up again. Picking his candle back up, he spoke once more.

"Aether, I thank you for joining us yet again for our Full Moon Rite. May you blessed be." Gently, he blew the candle out and placed it back down on the table before he walked over to the woman holding the Earth candle.

"Earth, please keep Michael Vasel safe and welcome him back into your loving arms. Thank you for joining us. May you blessed be." The woman blew the candle out as he bowed his head respectfully before making his way over to the Water candle.

"Water, I thank you for joining us yet again for our Full Moon Rite. May you blessed be." As the candle was blown out, he walked over to the Fire candle.

"Fire, I thank you for joining us yet again for our Full Moon Rite. May you blessed be." And finally, he walked over to the Air candle.

"Air, I thank you for joining us yet again for our Full Moon Rite. May you blessed be."

And with that, the last candle was blown out and the formal ritual ended. As I left the temple with Justin, Heath, and Zeke, I couldn't help but look back into the temple and watch as the man with the strange markings talk to the four women. I grabbed Justin's shirt and tugged gently, getting his attention. He stopped walking and turned to look at me.

"What's wrong, John? Don't you want to go to the party?"

"I do, but first, who are those people, specifically the man who led the ritual?"

"Ah. Those are the five Scribes. Scribes are the personifications of the five elements at each ritual. I don't know the names of the women, but I know the guy's name is Christian. He's Punk's mentor." We followed the others back down the hall and back into the Gathering. As we walked down the stairs, I asked him another question.

"Mentor? I didn't know students had mentors." Justin shrugged.

"Only those with gifts do. I guess to keep them on the right path or something. Now, enough of this crap. We've got a party to get to, John-John!" Grabbing my hand, Justin practically dragged me down the stairs, trying to catch up with Heath and Zeke. I laughed and tried to keep my balanced as I followed him. Putting my bad feelings aside, I tried to relax as we made our way to the party.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Before I begin this chapter, I just want to thank all of you who are keeping up with this story. Your support and encouragement have helped me so much and it's all greatly appreciated. I haven't thanked you all in a while and I figured that I needed to do that. Anyway, onto the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Fourteen**

As soon as Justin and I walked outside, my mouth practically dropped in shock and awe. Amazingly, the front of the school had been transformed into a kind of shrine that led up to the front gates of the school, which were opened. Through them, far beyond the trees and bushes I had seen a few days ago, was a bon fire that crackled and burned brightly, inviting the students and teachers to it. The front parking lot of the school was covered in party decorations that were black, dark purple, midnight blue, emerald green, and blood red in color; the colors that represented the different classes. There were witches on brooms, howling wolves, weird shapes and other such decorations all over the parking lot and hanging from the trees in the woods.

Following the rest of the werewolf students, Justin and I made our way towards the gates. Knowing that I'd have to go out into the woods, I stayed as close to Justin, Heath, and Zeke as I possibly could without being obnoxious and acting like a totally creepy stalker person. Naturally, I failed miserably at trying to act calm and collected. Justin noticed it though, thank God, and told Heath and Zeke to go on without us. Both of them gave me sympathetic looks and spoke words of support and encouragement to me before leaving the two of us behind.

"John, are you okay?" I looked into those doe brown eyes of his and I felt myself begin to calm down a little bit. Taking a deep breath, I centered myself before replying.

"I just don't like those woods. Ever since a few days ago, I haven't wanted to go back out into them, and now I have too." Justin's eyes brightened with understanding and then darkened as concern returned to them.

"We don't have to go to the party if you don't want to, John. It's not required for students to attend; they're just fun."

I thought for a moment, considering his offer. To be honest, all I wanted to do at that moment in time was to go back to the dorm, grabbed a half gallon of Turkey Hill Columbian Coffee ice cream and dig in as I watched _Space Jam_. And I wanted Justin to be there with me as I snarfed the half gallon down all by myself even though it would make me look like a pig and a fat ass. But I couldn't do that, regardless of how much I wanted too. If I kept running away from everything that scared me then I'd get nowhere in life; I would be a coward for the rest of my life and that was something I definitely didn't want to become. Besides, it wasn't fair of me to ask Justin to skip out on the party as well even though I know that he'd do it in a heartbeat. So, I took a deep breath, put on my big boy boxers (the ones with Batman on them; Superman is so 90's), and my eyes met his as I spoke.

"I want to go to the party. I can't just keep running away from stuff just because it scares me. So let's go to the party, Justin. I'm sure we'll have a good time." I tried to smile at him and I must have succeeded because he smiled back and grabbed my hand again, giving it a gentle squeeze before we started walking again.

"That's my John! More balls than brains, but that's okay!" I laughed with him and felt myself turn a bit red at the 'my John' part.

As we followed the other Selected students out of the iron gates, I realized that the werewolves were going in one direction while the witches, shape shifters, and seers went in different directions. And then I noticed that the bon fire I had seen when we started walking towards the woods wasn't the only one that had been set up. At different areas, there were three other bon fires and the other students were walking towards them. Confused as to why, I asked Justin about it as we entered the woods and followed the dirt path to our own bon fire.

"Hey, Justin? Why are there different bon fires? It seems really dumb to have separate bon fires and parties." Justin looked at the other parties going on before turning to me and shrugging.

"You know, I never really thought about it, but it's been that way for as long as I've been here. I'm not sure why each species has their own party and stuff like that." Frowning, I kept my gaze forward, my eyes taking in the werewolf bon fire and party that was slowly drawing nearer and nearer by the second.

"You know, when I first came here and ran away from you, I thought it was really strange that our school is so isolated as it is. I mean, we've got a huge brick wall and gates separating the school from the outside world, which I don't think is a good idea, and now, the species are separated and stuff. It seems really freaking weird and odd to have so much separation."

Justin was quiet as we continued following the others along the dirt path to our own party. I meant what I had said: it was strange and odd that we're so cut off from the rest of the world. After all, wasn't the biggest problem with relations between the five abnormal species and normal humans the fact that there's little actual human understanding. If Hell High was more connected with the community, then humans probably wouldn't label us as monsters and abominations as some of them do. My thoughts were averted momentarily when we entered a large clearing, obviously man made judging by the various tree stumps that were still there from when the trees must have been cut down. It was a nice sized clearing with the fire stationed at the heart of the circle. Around the circle were tables of snack foods (the healthy kind though, not the unhealthy kind like Doritos) and foreign dishes and cuisine as well as fruit and vegetable trays and deli platters. Bottles of water, gallons of tea and lemonade, and containers filled with coffee and other hot beverages covered two tables. Monitoring the food and drink tables were a few professors I had never seen before.

Music was gently raining down upon us from stereos that were hitched onto trees that surrounded the clearing. Kids were talking and laughing, mingling with their friends and significant others. Some were dancing while others just walked around and hung out. It was like a school dance and I was kind of surprised that things were so tame. After a few minutes of gawking like a moron, I looked over at Justin, who looked deep in thought. Frowning, I poked his cheek, making him shaking his head and blink a few times before he looked at me.

"The lights are on, but no one's home." I laughed and he gave me a brief smile.

"Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About what?" Justin led me over to one of the food tables and we grabbed plates before we loaded them up.

"About what you said: about being cut off. Now that I think about it, you're right. We are cut off from the world and it's weird and not right. Not natural."

He looked like he was still thinking so I kept quiet. After we had loaded our plates, we sat down on a few tree stumps that were in the perfect range of the circle: the light from the fire reached us, but we weren't in the way or anything like that. I watched the other students as we ate, neither one of us talking. Justin was thinking about what I had said, and it made me feel a bit better that I wasn't being paranoid or anything like that. Knowing that he was thinking about it made me feel like I wasn't alone. Hell, having Justin around in general made me feel better about being Selected.

But being around him and getting to know him and like him made me feel guilty about Dave. Truthfully, I hadn't been texting him or talking to him all that much. And although I could make a million excuses, like having too much homework (which I did), or having issues (like pulling Beth off of Kelly during dinner last night), or just trying to survive (literally) another school day, but I knew that, in the end, these were just excuses. The truth was that I really didn't know what I felt for him. Yes, I liked him, but did I _like_ him. Part of me said hell yes I like him. Another part of me said that I liked him, but not in that way.

Stifling a groan, I stabbed a piece of Lebanon bologna and shoved it in my mouth, as though the meat was what had offended me. I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed Mr. McMahon until he cleared his throat. Startled, I jumped and dropped my place of food which spilled all over the grounding. Groaning loudly, I tried not to look like a guilty teenage boy. I wasn't sure how well I did because Mr. McMahon didn't say or do anything that indicated that he was suspicious of me or anything like that.

"Sorry, John. Did I scare you?" I looked up at him and tried not to look at him like he had three fucking heads.

"I'm fine. Just fine. Just…you know, thinking." He nodded and turned to Justin.

"How are you doing this evening Mr. Gabriel?"

"Just fine." I could barely hear it, but there was definitely an icy chill to Justin's tone and it matched the look in his eyes. He looked like he had shut off his emotions and was staring at Mr. McMahon with a blank expression.

"Good to hear. I hope you're enjoying your first full moon John. Things will get heated up as the night goes on, but don't forget that it ends at eleven."

"I won't."

"Good. Well, I best be off." And with that, he left us, me gaping at him like a dipshit while Justin glowered at him.

"He's such a creep. Does he even realize that he's like a Facebook stalker? Creepy old man." I jumped again and turned around to see Punk standing beside us, his eyes glued in the direction Mr. McMahon had left in. Justin growled and stood up, his brown eyes narrowed and showing anger and aggression. Closing my eyes, I sighed before I stood up and placed a tentative hand on Justin's shoulder.

"What do you want, Punk?" Punk finally turned to look at Justin and I. Only when his eyes locked with mine did I notice how pale and tired he looked. Actually, he looked like hell, and I knew that he knew that too.

"Just thought I'd come over and say hello to my two favorite boys. Didn't you just love McMahon's little bullshit speech at the ritual tonight?" Justin scoffed but I answered him, causing Justin to look at me like I was a nutcase talking to a flamingo lawn ornament.

"You thought his speech was…off?" Punk nodded and sighed, turning back to the dirt path that Mr. McMahon had walked down when he left.

"He was jerking our chains. Literally."

"Why are you telling us this? What do you have to gain from talking to _us_ about this?" Punk turned to Justin and looked at him for a second before answering.

"For shits and giggles, Gabriel." Flashing us a brief smirk, Punk left, walking over to his group of friends who were standing near the fire, talking. Justin huffed and sat down, glaring at Punk. Chewing on my bottom lip, I sat down and kicked some leaves around with my shoe.

"Punk makes me mad. He's never straight forward with anyone, not even Christian, and Christian's his mentor!"

Before I could respond, a scream shattered the peace and joyfulness of the ritual. Glancing at Justin, we both stood up and started walking in the direction of the scream, which was beyond the circle and deeper into the woods than I've ever been. Before we could leave the bon fire, professors started towards the direction of the scream; some heading towards whatever, or whoever, made the sound while others kept the students from heading towards it. Professor Jensen was among the professors stopping us from heading out into the woods and instead ushered us back to the school.

"Everyone, everyone, please! Calm down and listen to us. We don't know what that was or anything like that, but there are professors on the way and they will locate the source and help whatever it is that's in trouble. Now, let's just remain calm and collected and head back to the dorm." A lot of the students groaned and made noises of disappointment. One student even yelled out at Professor Jensen.

"You mean the party's over?" Professor Jensen smiled slightly and nodded, looking sad and worried.

"Yes, the party's over. Now come on; let's get you guys back." Justin and I followed along with the other students as Professor Jensen and a few other teachers guided us back to the school, heading for the dorms. Looking over my shoulder in the direction of the scream, a sickening, sinking feeling invaded my stomach. I knew what that feeling was: it was my gut telling me that something was seriously wrong. Justin must have sensed it too because he whispered to me as we followed the teachers and the dirt path back to the school gates.

"Something's not right here. Do you feel it?" I nodded and felt myself go pale. It wasn't long before we left the woods and walked through the iron gates that protected the school. Before we entered the main lobby of the school, a young, obviously newly Completed seer, approached our group and whispered something to Professor Jensen. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I noticed that Justin had paled considerably and looked sickened.

"What's wrong, Justin?" He swallowed before answering me.

"The professors found the body of another dead teenager. They don't know who it is, but from what the seer told Professor Jensen, the teen was decapitated."


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I apologize for taking forever and a day to post the last chapter. Life took a downward spiral Wednesday and the only things that have kept me from the brink of a complete breakdown have been my family, my boyfriend, music, writing, and, ironically enough, _Teen Wolf_. Again, I apologize for taking so long. Hopefully, this chapter makes up for it. Thank you all so much for reading this story. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Fifteen**

Everyone was rushed back to their respective dormitories. A lot of the students were pissed, upset, worried, confused, and curious, and there was a bunch of loud talking going on. None of the professors told us what was going on. The only reason Justin and I knew was because of Justin's advanced hearing, something that develops after your body's been Selected for a long period of time. Instead of joining in with the gossip – I mean, _come on_, who doesn't like good gossip? – Justin and I kept our voices down and whispered to each other as we went to our dorm.

"I wonder what happened…" Justin shrugged.

"I dunno, but I've got a bad feeling about this. I mean, it's just not normal for this kind of thing. Not around here, anyway…" I nodded, not knowing what to say. As we walked towards the dorm, I wondered silently to myself if Justin was thinking about his dad and what he had done.

"I wonder who it was… It's sad that teens are being killed so suddenly. I mean, Michael died only a couple of days ago, and now this…" Justin nodded and we entered our dormitory, finding that the common area was populated with a lot of angry and venting teenage boys.

"This fucking sucks. I was this close, _this close_, to getting some. And then those fucking professors stop us."

"Dude, I know! It's bullshit."

"Do you think that that scream was just a hot couple getting it on?"

"No, definitely not. It didn't sound like a scream of pleasure. Whoever it was, they were terrified."

"Justin! John! There ya are. God, I was wonderin' where you two got to. Zeke and I have been so worried 'bout y'all." Heath rushed over to us, his face flush with excitement. Zeke followed him over and he sighed in relief. Apparently, from Heath's babbling, they must have been incredibly worried about us.

"Did you hear 'bout that teenager bein' found without his head?"

"Heath, who told you that?" Justin asked his. The ginger tilted his head to the side, his face getting redder, and he leaned into Zeke.

"Well…Y'see, Zeke and I were…uh, on our own. Doin' stuff. And a bunch of professors came running past us. A few of them yelled at us and told us to get back to the werewolf clearing right away. As we were goin' back, we heard some of them talkin' about it, and that's how we found out." I couldn't stop the grin that was spreading across my face. Heath noticed it and he stuck his tongue out at me as he continued to look embarrassed. Zeke merely kissed his head and chuckled. Justin and I shared a brief look before the South African spoke.

"Heath, I am so totally going to ignore the fact that you basically told me that you two were _having sex in public_. That is just… God, I don't even want to think about it. Not right now, especially given the circumstances at hand." Heath straightened up and growled at Justin playfully.

"Hey! It's not like I gave ya any details or anythin' this time!"

"True, but that's not the point. Why would you even want to have sex in the woods?"

"Especially the creepy woods surrounding the school?" I couldn't help myself; I just had to ask him. Those woods were creep, and I couldn't imagine why anyone would want to have sex in them. Heath look flustered and was stumbling over his words as he tried to defend himself. Justin and I just laughed at him and I patted his shoulder.

"It's okay Heath. Not everyone can control their sexual urges." Justin and Zeke snickered while Heath paled, looking a bit flabbergasted. After a few more seconds of laughing at Heath's expense, we all sobered up a bit and Justin asked Heath another question.

"So you know about the teenager? Did the professors mention a name or anything?" Heath shook his head and opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Punk walked past us with his group of friends. His eyes met mine for a brief second before they glanced at Justin. He winked at us and then continued walking towards the dorm rooms with his friends. Heath closed his mouth and glared after him while Zeke sighed heavily and shook his head.

"Dat Punk…he'll never learn." Heath turned back to us.

"What was that about? Him givin' you two that strange look?" I sighed.

"Punk talked to us at the party."

"About what?" Justin shook his head.

"Not here. Let's go to our room and we'll explain there."

Nodding, Heath and Zeke followed us to our dorm room. Since almost everyone was in the common area, the hallway and the rooms were pretty quiet, which gave us the perfect opportunity to talk to Heath and Zeke about what Punk had said to us. Opening the door, Justin waited until the three of us were inside before closing and locking the door. I sat down on my bed while Justin sat down beside me, not close enough to touch, but not too far away. Heath and Zeke took Justin's bed and when they were finally situated, Justin turned to me.

"You need to tell them what happened when you went for your walk a few days ago."

Somehow, I knew that I'd have to tell them, so I took a deep breath and explained everything to Heath and Zeke. I told them about going on my walk and going outside of the school and following the wall. I told them about how it felt like I was being watched and that, when I ran back to the school, Mr. McMahon suddenly appeared. And then I told them about the things he said and about what Punk had said when I returned to the gates. I ended with telling them about the weird feeling that slammed into my gut every time I even thought about Mr. McMahon. After I was finished telling them everything, I glanced at Justin, feeling relieved that someone other than Justin and Punk knew about it, but I also felt apprehensive. There was always the possibility that they'd think I was a total nut case and that I should seek professional help. Plus, if they thought that, they might go and talk to Mr. McMahon about it. That would be fan-fucking-tastic, wouldn't it? Yeah, no.

"Mr. McMahon does have that creep-o vibe to him, don' he?" Heath's comment made my head snap up and I looked at him, dumbfounded. Justin scooted closer to me and pulled me to him, one of his arms wrapped around me. Having him close made me feel better and a bit more sure about Heath's and Zeke's reactions.

"He's always seemed like a good Provost, but if your gut is telling you dat something's wrong, den something's wrong. End of story." Heath nodded at Zeke and smiled at me.

"John, you may be new here, but you've got the same intuition that Zeke does, and he's been here for a while. Besides, anyone with a haircut like McMahon's has got to be creepy." I laughed and Justin smirked at his friend.

"So Punk knows about Mr. McMahon? Why hasn't he said anything to anyone about it?"

"Maybe he has." At that, everyone looked at me like I had four heads. Squirming under their gazes, I quickly explained myself to them.

"Well, Christian's his mentor, right?" They nodded. "So that means they're close, right?" Again, they nodded, and realization flickered in Justin's soft brown eyes.

"So, there's a possibility that he'd told Christian about it!" I nodded and smiled.

"Right. That's what I was thinking, anyway."

"About Punk, what'd he say to you at the party? You didn't tell us that part."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Well, first, he called Mr. McMahon a creepy, Facebook stalker-"

"Those Facebook stalkers are kinda creepy. Some of them comment on my pictures and like way too many of my statuses for my likin'." Zeke nodded in agreement with Heath's comment.

"I know. Dey are very unnerving and annoying and dey piss me off. Total creeps." Clearing my throat, they both sent me apologetic looks and allowed me to continue.

"Anyway…Punk also said that Mr. McMahon's speech at the ritual tonight was bullshit and that he was just jerking our chains." Justin interrupted me, giving me that same old bad boy smile of his, the one that made me want to just go with anything that this mating business detailed.

"He told us that he was just telling us for shits and giggles. But he was kind of being sarcastic about it." Rolling his eyes, Heath scooted closer to the edge of the bed. He was so close that Zeke kept a hand on his waist just in case he was in danger of falling off.

"Punk is a crazy, psycho nerd who uses big words and who thinks he's better than the rest of us."

"True, but he's the only other person who knows about Mr. McMahon aside from us, so that kind of includes him in on, well, stuff."

Heath chewed on his lip and then fall back onto the bed. Zeke smiled at him and began running his fingers through the red hair of his mate. The room fell into a comfortable silence as Zeke and Heath seemed to be in deep thought. Feeling tired and a bit drained, I moved so that I was leaning against my headboard. Justin moved next to me and bent his head so that he was nuzzling my neck. A soft humming sound resonated from my chest and I felt myself getting more and more comfortable. Even though I was still new to the school and to being Selected in general, Justin was helping me cope with everything and having him with was almost as good as having Dan with me. Everything was so calm and peaceful that I literally jumped when Heath started speaking after sitting up.

"John, you're Justin's mate, but you're more than that to us. You're our friend too, and we believe what you've told us, even the part about Punk kind of, sort of being one of us."

"Yeah. We don't like Punk, but if he has to be in on this, then I'm willing to put up with him. So long as he doesn't bring up unpleasant stuff." Grinning like a fool, I opened my mouth to thank them when a sharp knock pounded on the door. Growling, I got up and yanked the door open. My anger faded away when I saw Punk standing there.

"Punk? Why did you knock on my door? What's going on?" Taking a deep breath, Punk answered my questions.

"Do you know a kid by the name of Anthony Grody?" A sinking feeling gripped me so hard that my knees nearly gave why. Anthony Grody was one of Dave's friends; like Michael Vasel, he had been with Dave in the hallway on the day I had been Selected.

"Y-yeah. I know him. What about him?" I asked the question even though I already had my answer.

"He was the teenager found in the woods. He was the one who screamed." Hearing those words escape Punk's lips, I felt my knees give way. But before I fell, Justin and Zeke were steadying me, both glaring daggers at Punk.

"What the hell did you just tell him?" Justin wasn't even trying to be cool and collected. He practically spat his question in Punk's face and I reached out and gripped his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Looking at me, I stared in Justin's eyes and I saw him calm down a bit before his gaze moved downwards.

"He just told me that…that the kid found in the woods is Anthony Grody…"

"Who's that?" Heath asked, standing up and leaning against the door frame.

"He's one of Dave's friends." I heard Heath gasp while Justin inhaled sharply. Punk just stood there, watching the entire change with his tired looking eyes, eyes that looked as drained as I felt. Before anyone could say anything else, he spoke up.

"Mr. McMahon came in a few minutes ago and told us about it. I thought I'd come and tell you seeing as how you guys are having a slumber party and stuff. Got any s'mores? I could use some chocolately goodness right now." Zeke snarled while Heath puffed up.

"John's human boyfriend's friend was just found dead and you make a joke like that?"

"God, no wonder you've got a small group o' friends. Who'd like you, ya jackass?" Punk shrugged and met my gaze on last time.

"I just thought you'd like to know that our Provost has such an interest in this and is taking time out of his busy schedule to personally tell us about it." Without saying anything else, Punk left and walked down the hallway towards his own dorm room, leaving the four of us staring at him, confused and utterly dumbfounded.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I should stop leaving you guys with cliff hangers. They're not fun, this I know, but they keep you on your toes, yes? I'm glad y'all liked the last chapter. Here's another one. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Sixteen**

Heath and Zeke left, leaving Justin and myself in our room. Picking up my phone, I quickly punched in Dave's number, wondering if he knew about Anthony. I wasn't too sure if the school had contacted the police. They should have, but I just didn't know for sure. The phone started ringing. Once. Twice. Dave finally answered on the third ring, and it was obvious that he was upset.

"John! Oh, John…Thank God you called. Did you see that Anthony-"

"Yeah, Dave. I know. I was…I was there, in the woods, when he screamed. Tonight was our full moon party and stuff… I'm so…so sorry Dave." I cut him off on purpose, wanting nothing more than to get to the point. The faster we got there, the sooner we could talk. Through the phone, I heard him taking swallow breaths, like he used to do when we were younger and he would need to calm himself down quickly.

"John…I can't…I don't know what the hell's going on! He didn't go to school today and I was at his house talking to his parents when the police arrived. What's killing my friends, John?" My heart clenched and I was at a loss for words. I didn't know who or what was killing teenagers, but whoever, or whatever it was, that was doing it needed to be stopped and soon, before other lives were lost.

"I don't know, Dave. I really wish that I did, but I just…don't." He sighed and I felt my sadness increase. Sure, Michael and Anthony weren't my favorite people on the planet, but they were people. More importantly, they were Dave's friends. Those two things combined made me care that they were dead.

"John. I just… I _have_ to see you. Please."

I bit my bottom lip. Before I even dialed his number, I knew that he would ask to see me. And, in all honesty, I wanted to see him too. Like, right now. Feeling eyes watching me, I looked up and saw that it was, of course, Justin. Since he had been here longer and had been Selected for a longer period of time than I had, his senses were far superior to my own. He could hear everything Dave was saying, and I knew that he had heard his request. When our eyes met, I saw the sadness and pain in Justin's eyes, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. But I _had_ to go to Dave. He needed me, and I needed to go to him. It was as simple as that. Almost as though he could read my mind, Justin nodded and gave me a small smile, one that didn't reach his eyes, but still managed to maintain its support and warmth. Giving him a grateful smile back, I returned my focus to Dave.

"Okay. Let's meet up." I could practically feel the relief wash over him at my answer.

"Tonight? It has to be tonight. Please John. I can't stay strong unless I see you tonight." I nodded, even though I knew he couldn't see it, and smiled.

"Okay. Tonight. Meet me at the elementary school playground, okay?"

"By the swings?" My smile widened. After all these years of not talking and being friends, Dave still remembered that I loved to swing.

"Yeah, by the swings. Be careful on your way there."

"_You_ be careful, Johnny. And if you can, try to hide your mark."

"Why?" Dave hesitated for a moment before answering me.

"I'll let you know when you get to the playground, okay?"

"Okay. See you soon Dave."

"Bye, John-John." Pressing the red phone button on my cell, I looked up at Justin and sighed. He was sitting on his bed, watching me carefully, looking worried and sad and like a kicked puppy.

"I have to go and see him, Justin. He needs me, and I need to see him."

"I know you do, John. That's why I'm going to help you get out of here." Even though I was practically two-timing him, Justin was still going to help me. That floored me and he noticed it because he laughed and shrugged, standing up and reaching for a jacket.

"You're my mate and I want to make you happy. It's part of my duty as the dominant mate, and I just want to. So I'm going to help you 'break' out of here. Kind of like the _Shawshank Redemption_, only I flat out refuse to crawl through crap."

"Okay, I'm going to ignore the fact that you basically named me the girl in our…uh, relationship. I really don't have the time or brain power to have a debate on who wears the pants in this thing of ours." Justin laughed and although he still looked sad, he looked more himself. Grabbing my own jacket, we walked out of our dorm room and made our way down the hall.

There were still plenty of teens in the common area. Some watching the news, which was now broadcasting the news of Anthony's body being found, and some were playing video games or just goofing around. Heath and Zeke weren't there, so they must have been in their room. Shuddering at the thought of what might be going on in there, I followed Justin out of the dorm and tried to think of Dave. I didn't have to try very hard; Dave was on my mind as Justin and I took the same hallway we had taken my first night here. Only I wasn't on my way to meet Dan and get the keys to my Jimmy. I was on my way out of the school and to the elementary school parking lot, thankful for discovering on my second day here that Hell High wasn't that far from my home town. Yes, I know exactly how dumb I am. Yes, I am going to deny it for the remainder of my days.

In what seemed like no time at all, Justin and I had made it out to the student portion of the front parking lot. My Jimmy stood out like a diamond in the rough and I couldn't help but feel tingly all over at the thought of sitting on Jimmy's tan leather seats and driving. Just the thought of driving in general made me want to let out a manly squeal. I didn't, but I thought about it. Walking over to my truck, I unlocked it and opened the door, about to hop in when I stopped and turned back to Justin. He looked resigned and sad, but his eyes never left mine and I could see the determination within them. Those eyes of his told me that he'd make me go to Dave if I even tried to back out. Sighing, I got in and sat down in the driver's seat before I looked at him again.

"I'll try not to be long, okay? I still have some homework to do and stuff."

"John, Dave needs you. Take as long as you need and don't sweat the homework. Just…be careful, okay? I don't want anything to happen to you." Flashing him a brief smile, I went to close the car door, but Justin stopped me. When I was about to ask what was up, he pressed his lips to mine in a brief, soft kiss before pulling away.

"If you need me, call." With what I was sure had to have been a deer-looking-into-headlights expression, I nodded and closed the door. Locking my truck up, I started it up before putting it in reverse and slowly, quietly, backing up until I had enough room to put it in drive and leave.

Unfortunately, the elementary school was a good twenty minute drive from the school, so I had time to think. And my brain did, indeed, think. About Michael and Anthony; Punk and McMahon; Dave and Justin; and by the time I had pulled into the parking lot at the elementary school, I still had no answers. I was at the same place I had been when all of this stuff started: a dead end. Getting out of my Jimmy, I locked it and walked across the parking lot. It was dark outside and all of the lights, except for those in the parking lot, had been turned off, giving the school a very spooky aura. Thankfully though, it didn't creep me out like the woods at school did, so I walked calmly and jumped up onto the sidewalk. Following it, I turned left around the school and continued walking until it came to the playground. That was when I saw Dave, sitting on one of the swings, idly moving back and forth slowly.

It felt like forever since I had last seen him when, in reality, it had only been a couple of days. Seeing him sitting there, all by himself with only the light from the moon illuminating him, I couldn't help but think of how lonely he looked. I couldn't help but feel guilty. Although I wasn't the one who killed his friends, and even though I had no idea who did kill them, I kind of left him all alone. Sure, when I was Selected, I had no choice but to move to Hell High, but that didn't change the fact that I hadn't texted him that much or called him that much. The only person I texted and called on a regular basis was Dan. Why the hell hadn't I done the same for Dave? Considering all of the stuff going on with the deaths of Michael and Anthony, he needed a friend, a close friend, and I had practically pushed him away.

Dave looked up and when he saw me, he smiled, relief pouring off of him in waves and stood up and jogged over to me. Before I could even say hi, he had wrapped his arms around me in a tight bear hug, pressing my body to his. Wrapping my arms around him, returning his hug, I allowed myself to relax in his embrace and I inhaled his scent. He smelled like home, like everything I had left behind, and so much more. It felt good being in his arms, but we had stuff to talk about, so both of us pulled away, blushing and grinning like dumbasses.

"So, you're here. Safe and sound. And alone. Right?"

"Yep. All alone. No Justin or any other werewolf friends around. It's just you and me." Dave smiled and we made our way to the swings. Sitting down, we remained silent for a bit, just basking in the moonlight and enjoying each other's company. The silence didn't last for long though, for Dave spoke up, sounding sad and angry and drained.

"I don't know what's going on John. First Michael, and now Anthony… What's going on?" I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't know, Dave. Really, I don't, or else I'd stop it anyway I could."

"I know you would. The entire school's in panic. Everyone's worried about who'll be next and parents have been freaking out. The police have no leads and no suspects; at least, that's what they've said. And it's not helping that some…people are pointing the blame…" My stomach dropped and I looked up at him. Dave was glaring into the darkness, looking more than frightening and very intimidating.

"What? You're not telling me something. Dave, spill." I wanted to know. I _had_ to know, even though my mind was screaming at me, trying to stop me from asking. Dave released a rough, barking laugh that was mixed with a sob before answering.

"People have been accusing Hell High students of killing Michael, and they'll be doing the same with Anthony." I sucked in a deep breath and tried to stop the anger that was beginning to form inside me. Losing my cool, right now, with Dave needing me to be strong and calm and level-headed, would definitely be a bad idea.

"Some students, parents, and even some teachers, though they won't say in front of us students, are positive that Michael was attacked by a Hell High kid. There's been a sort of…uproar in the media too, considering that a lot of people have been calling in and writing letters that demand that your school be closed or questioned or _something_…" Sighing, I looked down at the ground and shook my head.

"That's just…great. Just….great."

"There's more…" The tone in Dave's voice made me look up at him and his brown eyes found my own. In them, I saw fear, anger, sorrow, love, and…guilt?

"More?" He nodded and continued.

"John…your dad has been telling people, parents and teachers and anyone who'll listen, that it's a teenager who's been recently Selected by the werewolf rep at Hell High."

My mind went blank as it tried to process what Dave had just told me. My dad, my father, my _flesh and blood_, was telling whoever would listen that the thing and/or person that had killed Michael, was a recently Selected Hell High student. More importantly, a recently Selected _werewolf_ student. He had all but told people that it was me! All of a sudden, a hurricane of emotions slammed into me. Fear. Sadness. Anger. So many different emotions and questions began to plague my mind.

Why would my dad do something like that? I thought that, now that I had left home for good, he'd leave me alone. Wasn't just hating me enough? Did he have to do something like this and make everyone suffer? Children. Parents. Brothers and sisters. Mothers and fathers. Friends. Like Dave. Because of my daddy dearest, they were suffering, and there wasn't a thing I could do to stop it.

My inner turmoil must have been noticeable on my face because Dave grabbed my chin gently and lift my face so that I was gazing into his eyes.

"John, you're not the one doing this. You understand me? You're not. Someone or something murdered Michael and Anthony, but whoever or whatever the hell it was definitely wasn't you. Got it?"

"Go it."

Only wish that I felt as certain as Dave did.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hello all! I know some of you are wondering if/when Justin and John finally get together. Well, all I can tell you is to continue reading and find out. Sorry, but I never explain my stories until after they're finished to anyone, in real life or otherwise. That's just how I am. I apologize if that answer isn't what you're looking for, but I feel like I ought to be honest with you guys instead of spoon feeding you bullshit. Now that that's out of the way, here's another chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Seventeen**

After Dave dropped the Dad bombshell on me, we talked for a little while about other stuff aside from, well, _that_ stuff. Dave talked about school and what had been going on and stuff. I talked about my school and the classes and teachers and anything and everything. He listened the whole time, paying close attention and chiming in from time to time. Some of his facial expressions were priceless, and I loved seeing that bright sparkling in his eyes. It made me start to think what would have been had I not been Selected.

But we couldn't stay there, sitting on the swings, and talk forever. I had to get back to school or else I'd reap the consequences of being away from adult werewolves (aka die). So I eventually told him that I needed to head back to the school. Dave looked sad for a moment, but his face brightened soon enough.

"I'll see you again, right?" As I looked into his eyes, those brown eyes that had shown me so many different emotions during our conversations, I realized that I didn't want to leave him; that I wanted to spend more time with him. But that just wasn't in the cards. He knew that and so did I. We could see each other at times, but unless I wanted to die sooner than expected, I'd need to stay at Hell High as much as possible.

"You know I can't not live at the school, Dave, or else I'd say yes." He sighed and pulled me into a hug. I returned it, resting my head on his chest and inhaled his scent, smiling to myself just a bit.

"I know that, Johnny. And I get why, but we can still see each other, right? You wouldn't reject your Completion just because of a few hours away from school…right?"

Sighing, I pulled back and looked at him, really looked at him. Either it was my imagination or the deaths of his friends were taking their toll on him (it was probably the latter), but he looked older, and very tired. Seeing him in such a state made me want to cuddle him and make sure that he was okay, but that was something I couldn't do, even though I wanted to.

"I guess you're right…" He smiled and kissed my forehead.

"That's my John. Well, I guess I'd better go. It's late and you need to get back to school." I laughed and punched his arm which made him grin.

"Uh, I think _you're_ the one who needs his beauty rest."

"True. I can't have myself looking ugly when I've got my eyes set on such a hot looking wolf, now can I?" At his compliment, I could feel my face burning and I realized, horrified, that I must be unattractively red right now. I hated being embarrassed; it was, well, embarrassing.

"Me? Hot? Uh, yeah right. All of those tackles on the football field must have messed with your head or something." Dave laughed for a second before he shook his head and pressed my body against the cold steel pole of the swing set. His brown eyes were gazing down on me with a soft expression on them, though the seriousness held within them couldn't be denied.

"Have you looked at yourself in the mirror over the past few years at all, John?"

Shaking my head, I stared up at him, my face getting redder and redder by the second. Honestly, I never really paid much attention to myself. I was never one of those guys, straight, gay, or otherwise, who fawned over himself in the mirror. Uh, no; I am so not conceited. All I needed was to make sure my hair and teeth were brushed and cleaned and that nothing was on my face and I was good. Why check myself out in the mirror? Dave sighed and pressed his forehead against my own, his warm breath caressing my face.

"Well, you should, because you _do_ look hot. Hell, you've looked hot for the past couple of years, John. So take a look in the mirror when you get back to school. Maybe you'll see what I mean." Okay, I knew for a fact that I was redder than a tomato. It was kind of funny; I was redder than a fire truck, and that's what I wanted to be when career day came around back in second grade. Pushing those random thoughts out of my head before I actually started laughing at them, I nodded and just stared at Dave like a creeper. He grinned and pressed his lips to mine in a soft kiss. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was heavenly.

"I'd better go." He breathed out, sadness slowly returning to his voice and face. I nodded and hugged him before we broke apart.

"Have a safe trip home, Dave."

"I will, John. You do the same, okay? I know your school's kind of...out there. It must be kind of creepy."

"Yeah, it is. Good night, Dave." He smiled at me and kissed me one last time before he started jogging away.

"Good night, John."

I watched him until he hopped into his car and drove away. It was weird, being at the elementary playground without him. Shrugging, I started to head back to my car, my gaze focused on the ground. Trying, and somehow succeeding, to not trip over my own two feet, I made it to my car and stuck my key into the driver's side key hole. The wind picked up just as I unlocked my door and I looked up and stared into the thin line of trees that separated the school from the main road. Staring at me was the same creature that had been stalking me when I was up at Dan's not too long ago. But fear and panic didn't burst throughout my entire being. Somehow, I just knew what, or rather who, that creature had been. What I didn't understand was how I didn't make the connection. Laughing slightly, I shook my head and walked around to my passenger side, smiling softly.

"Justin… I know that that's you. Get your furry butt over here." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the beast trotted over to me, looking happy and pleased. When it, or rather he, had stopped in front of me, I bent down and petted his fur, shocked at how soft it was.

"So…are you going to change back or are you going to stay a dog for the rest of the night?" Justin whined before his fur started receding and, in moments, he stood before me, still wearing the clothes I had last seen him in. He grinned and leaned against my truck.

"You know, I didn't think you'd realize it was me this soon. I mean, I didn't tell you because I figured that you'd just call me a stalker or something, since I was watching you when you were at your brother's." I laughed and nodded.

"You're right, I would have, and it was kind of creepy. I mean, I didn't even know that werewolves could actually change into…uh…"

"Wolves. And not many adult werewolves can do it, let alone Selected students."

"But you can." Justin shrugged and grinned at me.

"I'm surprised you're not freaking out right now. I thought you'd be mad or something…" Shrugging, I unlocked the passenger door and made my way over to the driver's side.

"To be honest, so much has happened in the past few hours that it wouldn't surprise me if Heath dressed up at a woman tomorrow." Justin laughed and got into my Jimmy just as I sat down and started my truck up.

"Zeke told me that he did do that last Halloween. And I've seen the pictures."

Starting up my Jimmy, I put it into drive before we left the parking lot, a comfortable silence falling over us. Neither of us talked for a few minutes, which I was grateful for. I didn't lie to Justin when I told him that I was okay with him stalking me in his wolf form. Actually, it kind of made me feel a bit safe, knowing that he was there. And yet…

"Justin?"

"Hm?" He turned away from the window and looked over at me.

"When did you leave the school and turn into a wolf? Like, how long have you been watching me?"

"Since you left. I didn't want you to go by yourself, but I knew you needed to see Dave, so I just followed you. Besides, I got a bad feeling when you left; like something might've happened if I wasn't around. So I left the school and followed you. And luckily, nothing happened." Flashing a grin at me, he turned back to staring out of the window and left me to my thoughts. So, Justin had been the wolf creature that had been watching me when I was at my brother's house? Hm…

"Justin, why were you at my brother's house in the first place? That _was_ you right? At my brother's house on the day I was Selected?" Justin chewed on his lip for a moment before he turned back to me and nodded.

"Yeah. I knew the date that you'd be Selected, and I wanted to see you. John, you're my mate, and that means that we're destined to be together eventually." He sighed and sat up straighter in his seat. Keeping his gaze straight forward, he continued speaking, even though I could tell that he was uncomfortable.

"I've been left on my own for a while. My dad was a wrestler, so he was on the road a lot, and Mom also had a job, so I was usually by myself. Things got worse when I was Selected and Dad went berserk... No one would want to be with someone who had a dad like mine, one who did what he did. So when I found out that I had someone who'd be with me no matter what, I got excited and happy, really happy, for the first time in a long time. And I decided that I would go and see you on the day you got Selected, so that I could see you. But I didn't mean to frighten you like I had. If I had known that you would've ran away and hit your head, I wouldn't have shown up."

Finally, we had arrived at the school. Pulling through the gates, I parked my Jimmy in the same space it had been in when I left and turned the truck off. I thought for a moment before I turned to him. Justin wasn't looking at me. Instead, he was looking out the window, the tears in his eyes making the soft brown stand out even more. Unable to help myself I leaned in closer to him and hugged him, pressing my face against his neck. He returned the hug, enveloping me in a tight embrace, and he sniffed, trying to hold back his tears.

"It's okay Justin. I don't blame you for anything… I…I can't say that I'm ecstatic that you came to see me that day, but I am glad I got to see you then. If I hadn't, I would have definitely freaked out tonight when I saw you." Pulling back, he looked at me as though I were a crazy, nasty smelling homeless person.

"You're…not mad at me?"

"Uh, no."

Justin smiled and kissed me. I tried not to think about the electric jolt that passed through me as his lips touched mine; I tried not to think about the strange things going on around here; I tried not to think about Dave and the guilt I felt. But, unfortunately, my brain wouldn't shut off for a second, and we broke away all too soon for my liking. It was probably for the best though, considering that things were way more than a little crazy, but I still felt a sinking feeling seep into me when we broke the contact. Justin just smiled and me and pressed a kiss to my cheek before he opened the passenger door.

"We should get inside before someone catches us out here this late."

"A little too late for that, Mr. Gabriel." My blood ran cold at the sound of the Provost's voice, and I reluctantly turned my head towards him. There he was, Mr. McMahon, standing in front of my vehicle, looking less than pleased with us.

"Mr. McMahon! Uh…er, I can explain." He just held up his hand and shook his head, a frown plastered on his face. Dread was radiating off of me and I pulled my keys out of the ignition and got out, locking my truck up before I made my way over to him.

"We'll not do that out here, Mr. Cena. My office. Now."

Justin and I shared a look before we followed him up to the main entrance of the school. God, if there was ever a time for me to get a bad case of diarrhea, now would be it.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: I'm sure that you all hate me very much for constantly leaving you with cliff hangers and the like. But at least they keep you on your feet, right? Before I begin this chapter, I just want to say thank you to, well, all of you. Thank you for reading this story, for liking it, reviewing it, and for coming back to it every time I update. Your support and encouragement make my day and always manages to put a smile on my face. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Eighteen**

Justin and I followed Mr. McMahon up the steps and into the school's main lobby. Most of the lights were off and there was hardly any noise. It was dead quiet, and I wanted to just turn around and run off to…anyway! I honestly didn't care where I ended up, as long as it was away from Mr. McMahon and his creepy hair cut.

But I didn't run off. I refused to. After all, it was my fault that Justin and I had gotten caught outside after curfew. And there was no in hell I'd leave Justin by himself with Mr. McMahon, not given all of the weird crap that was going on. Before we even made it to his office, I had already made up my mind to take all of the blame.

Stepping into the administration office, we walked down the short hallway to the Provost's office. Opening the door, Mr. McMahon ushered us in before he walked in himself and closed the door. Gesturing to the two chairs that sat before his desk, he sat down and frowned at use as we took our seats. Nervously, I looked around his office. What I saw was a combination of what a typical principal's office and a professor of cryptology. There were a few wooden bookcases that held all sorts of books with odd titles, mostly pertaining to the five species, as well as some knick knacks – like a plaster cast of a werewolf skull – and other such items. Lining the walls were paintings of, what I figured, were important people, all of whom had made it to Completion and looked strong and powerful. There were also a few college degrees and pictures, but before I could really _look_ at them, Mr. McMahon started talking.

"So, would either of you care to tell me what you were doing outside at such a late hour?" His voice held so much disappointment and irritation that, at first, I didn't think I'd be able to talk. But looking over at Justin, seeing him glower at the floor, jerked me out of my freaked-out state.

"It was all my fault!" Mr. McMahon's eyes widened, as though he hadn't been expecting that, and his frowned softened.

"Mr. Cena?"

"It's my fault. I…I wanted to see a friend of my and he's a normal teenager who goes to my old high school. He called me today and I told him that I wanted to meet up, so we planned it. Justin told me not to go, but I didn't listen. So he followed me, and when I was finished, I brought him back in my truck. I'm sorry for breaking curfew, but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to go and see my friend, and it was kind of last minute and…stuff."

I hoped that I sounded honest and regretful. Mr. McMahon studied me for a second before he looked over at Justin. As I was talking, I felt the surprise radiate off of him, so I knew that he was surprised; I just hoped that he didn't look surprised. Silence enveloped us and it was practically stifling. It made my skin crawl and I had to force myself to not fidget nervously in my chair.

"Mr. Gabriel? Is what John said true?" For a brief moment, Justin's eyes met mine, and he nodded and opened his mouth to reply. That's when the door was wrenched open loudly and violently, banging against the wall. Turning around, I saw that Evan was clinging to the door knob, heaving and sweating, his glasses half hanging off of his face.

"Evan? What's going-"

"There's a fire! In one of the boy's bathrooms near the lobby. I didn't…I didn't know what…I wasn't sure…so I came running to get you since none of the other professors are up." Mr. McMahon stood up before Evan even finished his sentence.

"The one by the lobby? Okay, I'll handle this. John, Justin, Evan, you three return to your rooms and get some sleep."

"Does this mean we're off the hook?" Mr. McMahon looked over his shoulder and sent me a brief smile.

"Just this once, Mr. Cena. Just be sure that it doesn't happen again." He was out of the office within seconds, leaving Evan, Justin, and I alone, gazing after him. We all stayed silent for a moment, until Evan let out a breath and slumped against the door of the office.

"Thank goodness that worked! I didn't think he'd fall for it, but, luckily, he did." Justin laughed, looking like the Cheshire cat, and he stood up.

"Evan, you are a genius! How'd you even know we were here, anyway?" Evan grinned back at him.

"Heath and Zeke. They told me that you guys left, and they saw you when you came back. When Mr. McMahon found you, Heath sent me a quick text and I created a, uh, disturbance in the boys' bathroom." Evan was bouncing on his feet and he looked proud of himself. But even so, I could still see the small hint of sadness tinting his brown eyes, and I felt bad. His ex, Chris, was still being a jerk and it was tearing Evan apart. Standing up, I went over to him and pulled him into a bear hug. He squeaked in surprised but returned the hug tenfold, still bouncing.

"You're a life saver, Evan! Seriously. I dunno how to thank you." We pulled apart and he shrugged, grinning.

"How did you start the fire, anyway?" Evan's brown eyes started twinkling mischievously, and Justin's grin just widened.

"We just started on our complex fire unit in my Spells and Rituals class last week. I already read ahead, so I know all of the stuff, but it's been great for practice!" Tilting my head to the side, I looked at the smaller teen in confusion. Justin patted me on the back and sent me a smile, looking immensely proud of Evan as he explained.

"Evan is one of the few students at this particular Hell High that has a gift special enough to warrant a mentor so early. He has a gift for the fire element, and he's very good at it too."

Evan nodded enthusiastically as we left the Provost's office and the administration office to return to the dorms. My eyebrows rose in surprise. I was still new at Hell High, and even though I had become friends with Justin, Evan, and the rest of the gang, I didn't know all that much about them. Sure, I was slowly putting the piece of who each of them were together, but it was going to take time to really get to know them.

"Wait. You can control fire?" Evan nodded again and he puffed his chest out proudly as we continued walking.

"Yep. I found out about it last year, when I was in my second year. That was when Chris became my mentor and…well, yeah…"

He quieted down, and it dawned on me just how much Evan was actually suffering. I knew that Chris was a professor here and that special accommodations had been made so that he and Evan could be together (seeing as how they _were_ mates after all), but I didn't know that Chris had been Evan's mentor. No wonder the poor kid was having a horrible time recovering from their break up. From what I've gathered from my textbooks and from what Justin's explained to me, mates were forever, and it could cause physical harm if they broke up or were separated. Mates could get sick and even die from it, so Evan and Chris' break up was no laughing matter. And that was only the physical aspects of it; Lord knows how bad the emotional and mental toll on it was. Textbooks could only explain so much, and even if they did, I wouldn't read that part of it. They could never hit home close enough to give students a decent understanding of it.

Mentally kicking myself, I threw one arm around Evan's shoulder as we walked and gave him a smile.

"I bet you're heads and shoulders above the rest of your classmates, huh? I'd love to see you light something on fire. It's probably pretty freaking sweet, right?" Evan's frown disappeared and he practically beamed at me. My eyes met Justin's for a second, and he winked at me, making me smile in return. Arriving at the stairwell that would take us to the dorms, we started up them, still talking and stuff, when out of nowhere, Punk pushed past us, practically running up the stairs.

"Hey, watch where you're going, jackass!" Justin yelled after him. Punk froze and turned around, glowering at us with his fierce brown eyes. Never before had I seen such an expression on his face.

"Fuck you, Gabriel! Why don't you and your little bitch go and fuck somewhere?" He didn't wait for a response; he just took off for the werewolf dorms. The three of us stood there, shocked into silence. Wondering what the hell was up with him, I shook my head and climbed the rest of the stairs, Justin and Evan trailing behind me.

"He's such an ass. I'm surprised his friends can even put up with him." Evan nodded in agreement with Justin's statement.

"Punk has never been very nice. I mean, when he first arrived here, he was quiet, but then he started getting mouthy and bitchier than Kelly. Oooh! I almost forgot to tell you guys. Beth and Kelly got in another fight! Kelly called Beth fat, so Beth called Kelly a skank, and then Kelly jumped on Beth. It was epic! Professor Hasannova had to pull them apart." I looked at him as we arrived at the dorm area.

"That's it? Kelly seems sensitive to the word 'skank', huh?" Evan giggled while Justin rolled his eyes.

"Kelly is notorious for sleeping around, and Beth is notorious for hating sluts and stuff. Her mom was one. At least, I think she was. Maybe she still is. Don't know for sure, but Beth can't stand it. And Kelly is such a brown-noser. It's seriously ridiculous. Anyway, I should go. I'm glad you guys aren't in trouble or anything because that would suck." Evan hugged both Justin and I before he scurried off to his own dorm. I couldn't help but laugh; the kid was just so energetic despite all that was going on in his life.

"We should get to our room. It's late and I'm beat." I let out a half breath, half sigh and looked over at Justin. He was smiling at me in a way that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it also kind of embarrassed me. After all, Justin _was_ pretty hot, and being able to cause so many emotional responses with one expression should be illegal. We stood there, staring at each other, and I couldn't help but shift slightly under his gaze.

"What?" Justin's smile softened and he tilted his head to the side.

"You handled that pretty well."

"Handled what?" Justin stepped closer to me, and his brown eyes connected with me blue ones.

"Evan and his issues with Chris. You avoided something that would have upset him beyond reason _and_ you made him feel better. Truly better. That's the most energetic I've seen him since they broke up." I shrugged.

"It was no big deal. That's what friends are for after all. I hate seeing him so down and sad." And I did. I honestly did. Evan was a good kid. A little mischievous – which I blame entirely on Heath and Justin – but he's still a great guy, and I didn't like seeing him go through so much. No one in our odd little group has ever gone through what he's going through, so there's a lot of stuff that we don't understand and get, but he still needs support.

"It was a big deal. Heath has been trying to get him to crack a real smile ever since they broke up. Yet you managed to do so with just a few simple words." As Justin spoke, I felt my face redden and I shift uncomfortably.

"He's in pain, Justin, and he needs us. It's the least I can do." Justin's smile turned a bit sad, and I wanted to ask him what was wrong. But I didn't. I didn't want to pry or anything like that, so I just let it go.

"Yeah... Come on. We should get some sleep." Nodding, I walked beside him as we made our way into our dormitory, feeling both relieved and perplexed all at once.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Sorry it took me forever and a date to post the last chapter. Things have been crazy lately and it's been hard to concentrate on writing in general. That being said, thanks for being patient with me and for all of your support. Here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Nineteen**

A few weeks passed without any reports of teenagers missing or murdered or anything like that. It was kind of relieving, actually, and it allowed everyone to calm down from the mass panic that was starting to build up. Dave was still upset – and he had every right to be, all things considered – but he was starting to heal from the deaths of his friends. He was still keeping tabs on what was going on for me (aka telling me what my dad was up to) which was a comfort seeing as how the news channels didn't really cover anything. Classes were going smoothly and I was starting to really understand the gist of everything.

Evan was still upset over his break up with Chris, but he was starting to feel better. We could see his spirits lifting, and that made me happy. The guy had enough stuff to worry about; he didn't need so much pain and stress on top of it. Beth was still fighting with Kelly, who had finally realized that she had absolutely no chance with me whatsoever (even if it did take me telling her I like having a penis shoved up my ass for her to realize that). Heath and Zeke were still going strong, which didn't surprise me at all. They really were perfect for each other. And Justin was doing just fine, partially due to the fact that Punk hadn't really talked or even looked at us since we saw him that night not too long ago.

Actually, Punk hadn't really been around all that much period. Sure, he was seen in the common room, in classes, or with Christian, but he had pretty much deserted his friends. He wouldn't even show up in the dietary for lunch and dinner. It kind of worried me. I mean, what the hell had gotten into him that night when Justin and I had made our narrow escape from being punished for breaking curfew? Hell, what had been going on with him in general since that night?

Considering the still unsolved murders of Michael and Anthony, the weirdness that was Mr. McMahon, and the creepy thing that had a bad habit of stalking me when I was alone, along with classes, homework, and teenage stuff in general, I didn't have the time to worry about Punk too much. I had enough on my plate with the Dave-Justin stuff, homework, and projects; I _couldn't_ waste any more of my time worry about Punk.

So why was I worrying over him? Shaking my head, I muttered to myself, ignoring the strange looks I got from other students, as I made my way to the school library. Today was Tuesday and I had a report due on Friday about the correlation between the classic story _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ and werewolf folklore. Thankfully, classes and dinner were already over and done with, which gave me some time to do some well needed research. Turning the corner, I continued to make my way to the library when the sound of two voices arguing made me stop short. Retracing my steps a few feet, I stared down the hallway to my left and spotted two guys, both vamp Selected students from the looks of it, arguing.

"You don't get it, do you, Chris? For the love of fucking Christ, I. Am. A. Freak! No one in our group likes me, especially your friends. And, oh yeah, that includes Austin, who totally ditched me after Red died because he didn't want to be that one kid who was friends with the freak of the school!" The smaller boy, a brunette who had filled in vamp marks, though no additional tattooing, hissed at the other teen, the one with dirty blonde hair.

"Alex, for the last time: you're not a freak. You're special; your tattoos prove it. And I don't care what my friends think of you. _I_ like you." The brunette, Alex, scoffed and looked down.

"Sure you don't care what your friends think of me. Uh huh. Right. That's why you kind of ignored me at dinner today. I told you that having me sit with you guys would piss 'em off, and it did!" Chris shook his head and stepped towards Alex. I should have continued walking. I shouldn't have stopped and stayed to listen to them, but, for some reason, my legs wouldn't move. It was like I was rooted to the spot. Watching them argue was intoxicating, and I just couldn't help myself.

"I wasn't ignoring you, 'Lex! It was…tense and uncomfortable at dinner and that's why I wasn't talking. But I wasn't ignoring you. I could never ignore you…" Alex lifted his gaze and glared at Chris.

"You had no problem with it my first four years of being here." And with that, Alex turned and started walking away from Chris. Chris watched him go and he hung his head, sighing and leaning against the wall. Feeling like a total creeper and a voyeur, I started walking again, my eyes wide and staring straight ahead.

"Way to be a total creeper, John. Not only do you have mounds of homework left to do, but you also have a boyfriend issue that is still unresolved. Might as well add hallway creeper to the list of stuff that makes this week suck. Good job!" Rolling my eyes at myself, I made my way to the library.

Lady Luck seemed to be on my side when I arrived at the library because, aside from the librarian (a morpher named Sanja Bathory), the library was empty. Flashing Sanja a brief smile as I walked past her desk, I walked over to the computer desk that was the farthest from the library doors. I wanted to be left alone and at piece while doing my research, and being away from whoever may come in was the best way for me to do so. Placing my notebook, my Werewolf Soc, and my pencil case down on the table, I sat in the seat and logged onto the computer.

Once my user screen was up, I clicked on the Internet Explorer button and started my research. At first, there wasn't really anything that helped me at all, but as I continued searching and getting into it, I found a few articles that really hit the mark. I printed them out and got up, walking over to the print and retrieving the articles. Rereading them, I returned to my computer and sat down. Taking a highlighter out of my pencil bag, I skimmed the first article I printed out, completely unaware that someone was standing behind me until they spoke.

"I remember this assignment. I thought it was boring and stupid." Jumping, dropping my article and highlighter, I turn around only to see Punk standing behind me, reading the article I had up on the computer screen. Heaving a bit, I picked up my papers and highlighter and glared up at him. Punk looked like crap. Seriously, he had mega huge dark circles under his eyes and his face was pale and looked drained.

"Okay, I know I already told you this once, but do you _have_ to sneak up behind me like that? For the love of God, make some damn noise, would ya?" Punk looked at me and he sneered, though it didn't reach his eyes. It was obvious that it was fake and that he had to put some effort into it.

"Sorry, princess, but I thought that you'd be a bit more guarded than that. Seeing as how you _are_ a werewolf and all, you should be able to hear and smell things more accurately." Rolling my eyes, I turned back to my computer screen.

"Justin told me that it'll take a little bit for my senses to start evolving." From behind me, Punk released a short laugh and crouched down by my chair.

"I honestly don't know what you see in him. He's so…dorky. Not to mention the lovely family drama…" I growled, not liking the fact that he was insulting Justin.

"He's not a dork."

"Oh please, buttercup. You guys have geekends." I rolled my eyes again and returned to highlighting. So what if the gang and I took up a few couches in the dorm and watched _Star Trek_ and _Bleach_? It was a totally normal pastime for teenagers.

"We are not geeks and we do not have geekends. We have…friendly bonding time."

"If you want bonding time, then you should just let Justin shove his dick up your ass." I felt my face redden and I shook my head, trying to get those images out of my mind. Like I needed them at a time like this? Uh, no. The last thing I needed was to get a boner in the school's library (of all places). Besides, there was still that Dave-Justin issue…

"Why are you here? More importantly, why are you talking to me?" Punk sighed and I looked over at him. He looked tired and worn out. Before he answered, he looked around the library. Only the two of us, plus Sanja, were in the library.

"Because Christian and I have been…brainstorming. About McMahon and the murders of those two humans. And we think that there's a definite connection…" He trailed off, sounding as though there was something else that he wasn't telling me.

"But?" Punk blinked and looked at me, a bit confused.

"But what?"

"You trailed off. There's a 'but' there or something that you're not telling me, so spill." He sighed and nodded.

"You know that Christian's my mentor, right? I'm sure Justin's told you."

"Yeah, he did. He said only students with special gifts have mentors."

"Yeah well, my gift sucks ass."

"What is it exactly?" I was intrigued and curious and worried all at the same time. And it was becoming frustrating.

"I can see future disasters. Like, bad stuff that'll happen to us…to humans." My stomach dropped. I had no idea that that was his gift. And then anger started rising within me. Had Punk foreseen the deaths of Michael and Anthony? If he had, then maybe they could have been saved. But before I could voice all of this, Punk beat me to the chase.

"No, pea brain, I didn't see the deaths of those two kids. I saw something worse. If more teenagers turn up dead, there's going to be a riot, a mass panic attack and a rebellion that will result in a lot of deaths. And that massive attack will be aimed right at us and at our school."

We stayed silent for a minute; Punk's revelation hanging over us like a dark storm cloud. Everything was spinning around and around in my head. Punk could foretell future disasters. The disaster he saw was a violent riot. That riot was aimed at us and the school, which meant that a lot of people would be.

"Is that all you saw?" Punk shook his head and he looked away from me.

"The reason Christian and I have been trying like fucking hell to tie McMahon to the two murders is because, in my vision, I saw him standing at the top, as though he were on a hill. And believe me, he looked like pure evil." My heat sunk and I slumped in my seat.

"Great. So, what exactly is McMahon's part in all of this?" Punk growled.

"I don't fucking know! And Christian can only ask so many questions before people start getting suspicious." Something struck me just then and I looked at Punk with what must have been an oh-shit expression because he perked up, looking alert.

"What is it? Did you just think of something?"

"What species is McMahon anyway?" Punk's eyes narrowed.

"Just answer the damn question, Punk."

"He's a shape shifter. Why?" Taking a deep breath, I told Punk everything that I had told Justin. My research completely forgotten, it took me a while to go through everything, but Punk listened intently, his expressions shifting as I continued. When I was done, he looked down and glared at the floor before he stood up and turned to leave.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"To tell Christian about this, dumbass. We've now got even more pieces to the puzzle, and we're going to need a lot more brain power than yours to put everything together."

"Well, what should I do?" Punk sneered at me, and this time, it reached his eyes.

"Do your homework. Go to class. Fuck your boyfriend. What else is there to do?" I frowned, my face reddening.

"We haven't had sex yet." Punk laughed as he walked away.

"Sure you have, peaches."

Pouting, I turned back to my computer and stared at the screen intently. After boring holes into it, I sighed and gathered my crap up before I logged off and left. There was no way I could focus on research now, not with everything that I had learned swimming about in my mind. Besides, I needed to tell Justin about my little encounter with Punk.

"God, if he keeps sneaking up behind me and talking to me, people might start to think we're friends."

This really was turning out to be a bad week.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Oh my goodness. What is this? Is…is this the twentieth chapter? Already? So soon? My, oh my, where has the time gone? (Apparently out the window with the Book of Shadows). And I'm still amazed/shocked/surprised/flabbergasted at how successful it is. And I owe it all to you guys. You keep me on my toes and make me want to continue writing more. I think that I ought to tell you guys that there will probably be ten chapters after this one, maybe. Plus two bonus chapters for fun and whatnot. I'll keep you all up to date on that. Anyway, here's the twentieth chapter! R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty**

I sent Justin a quick text, telling him to bring, or drag, Heath, Zeke, Beth, and Evan out to the courtyard at the cafeteria as soon as possible. Instead of asking a zillion questions, he just went with it and I let out the breath that I had been holding. Heath and Zeke knew all about what was going on, but Beth and Evan didn't, and I wanted them to know. Considering that they were my friends too, they had a right to know. So, as I walked out of the library, I made up my mind about telling them. If they knew, then there would be two more people thinking about it and coming up with suggestions on what might be going on.

As I made my way to the courtyard, I accidently bumped into someone. Grunting, I flashed him a brief apology before I continued walking. God, I must have been nervous as hell or something like that. How else could I have missed that guy walking towards me? Whatever. Now was not the time to be nervous. Although I hadn't been here that long, Justin's friends had become my own and I knew that they'd have my back no matter what.

At long last, I made it to the courtyard. Feeling relieved, I walked outside and made my way towards the stone wall at the far end, away from the cafeteria and any other doors. Placing my stuff on the wall, I jumped up on top of it and looked around, waiting for Justin and the gang to get here. After about five minutes, a door on the right wall of the courtyard opened and a Hispanic Selected student – a seer, judging by the odd wing mark around his left eye – walked out of it. He was talking animatedly on the phone in Spanish and he walked towards the cafeteria, disappearing through the door in seconds.

That was kind of weird. But then again, this was Hell High; weird was the norm. Not long after the Hispanic teen left, Justin and the gang came through the cafeteria door. As soon as he spotted me, Justin grinned and jogged over to me, leaning against the wall by my left thigh. Evan came over and hopped up onto the wall beside me while Beth, Zeke, and Heath stood in front of me.

"Okay, you dragged me away from _Dancing with the Stars_. So what's up?" Beth crossed her arms, but she didn't look mad. In fact, she was trying hard to hide the small smile on her face.

"Justin said that it must have been really important and secret and stuff for you to summon us like members for the Fellowship." Heath rolled his eyes at Evan's bouncy enthusiasm.

"Ev, did you just make a dorky reference to _Lord of the Rings_?" Evan stopped bouncing and narrowed his eyes at Heath, who remained unfazed.

"Yes. I. Did. And don't you dare call it dorky again because it is so not dorky. At least, not as dorky as that picture of you from that Halloween party."

"Just because I wore a dress doesn't mean I'm dorky." Beth snickered and flashed Heath a grin.

"No, it just means you're a cross dresser."

"I am not a cross dresser! I just…like to explore my feminine side. And that doesn't change the fact that LOTRs is dorky."

"I like those books and movies." Heath's face paled a bit at Zeke's statement and he leaned closer to his mate.

"And I love you for it. But it's still dorky." Justin grinned and leaned in closer to me. Having him close by made me feel a bit more stable, and I cleared my throat, getting their attention.

"Uh, guys? Although I find this funny, there's some serious stuff I need to tell you." The laughter stopped and everyone turned to look at me.

Straightening up, I told Beth and Evan everything. It was just like the time I had explained everything to Heath and Zeke. I started with the walk; then about how I felt like I was being watched; and I ended with Mr. McMahon, Punk, and the gut feeling that came to me whenever Mr. McMahon was near me. When I was finished, I looked over at Justin, who flashed me a smile and grabbed my hand. He squeezed it and I automatically felt better. Evan's voice made me look away from Justin.

"You know, Mr. McMahon was the one that helped the exception for Chris and I get passed. But he only did that because he owed Chris. Chris told me that himself. Aside from that one instance though, I've never really talked to him. Every time he's seen me, he hasn't said anything, even when I was with Chris." I reached over and pulled Evan in a one arm hug and he leaned against me, sighing.

"Mr. McMahon is Provost of our school. He's a respected and well-liked man. And he has one long stick up his ass. So far up there that he walks funny." Beth flashed me a bright smile and winked. Relief started flowing over me, even though I was still surprised that Beth and Evan believed me.

"You guys believe me?" Evan nodded enthusiastically while Beth just smiled.

"Of course we believe you John. Don't be so silly." Beth's statement made me smile, which widened when Evan spoke up.

"You're Justin's mate John. More importantly, you're our friend, and we care about you. And that means that we believe you. Besides…Heath kind of told us a little bit about it." My eyes widened and I looked up at Heath, who was looking at anything and everything but me. Justin groaned and shook his head while Zeke lifted his hand and smacked his mate on the back of his head.

"Ow! Why'd you do that? You messed up my hair!" Zeke rolled his eyes, but pulled his boyfriend into a hug, kissing his forehead lovingly.

"I told you not to tell dem. You should listen to me more often." Justin stood up and he sent a slight glare at his best friend.

"Why'd you tell them, Heath?" Pouting and rubbing his head, Heath turned to Justin.

"I didn't tell them much! Just that John didn't like Mr. McMahon because of something that happened." Beth nodded and chimed in.

"Yeah. He wouldn't tell us what happened, but we knew _something_ happened."

"Oh. Okay." I smiled at them, my group of friends plus my mate.

And then it hit me: although I was still new to being Selected, I had friends, which were becoming my second family. Sure, I still kept in touch with my brothers – Dan especially – and with Dave, but no one else from my old high school, my old life. Having a support system here made me feel better about everything. Even though I had no idea how to solve the Dave-Justin issue, I still had my friends. Even though I had no idea what Mr. McMahon was up to, I wasn't alone. Sure, I had a helluva lot more questions than answers, but I had my friends, so everything would work out. At least, that's what I told myself as we all left the courtyard and made our way back to our respective dorms.

Beth and Evan returned to their own dorms, and that left Heath, Zeke, Justin, and myself to return to ours. We were laughing at Heath's horrible attempt at a joke (seriously, the guy couldn't tell a joke to save his life) when we walked into our dorm's common area. The laughter died instantly. A lot of the guys were standing or sitting around the TVs, watching a news broadcast that was airing. When we had entered it, the broadcast was nearly finished, but we were able to hear the last part of it.

"_I repeat: local high school cheerleader, Julie Maxwell, has disappeared. She was last seen jogging through Blackwood Park at four this afternoon. If anyone has any information about her sudden disappearance, please call the news station or the police."_

As soon as the news broadcast ended, the room erupted in conversation. I just stared at the TVs like a moron, sort of stunned by the broadcast. It had been weeks since the last murder, and I had thought that, maybe, it was over. But deep down, I knew that I was just fooling myself. The attacks hadn't stopped; they'd just subsided for a short period of time. I didn't move from my spot until Justin and Heath grabbed me and pulled me back towards the hallway. Before we got too far though, a door on the left opened up and Punk's head popped out. He still looked like hell, but his face held a little more color to it than it had earlier. Justin and Heath stopped when I stopped and turned to look at him.

"What're you lookin' at, Punk?" I shrugged out of their grasps and I turned to face Punk. The circles under his eyes were darker, if possible, but he didn't look too bad.

"Did you see the broadcast?"

"I didn't need to. I had a…feeling in my gut that something was going to happen."

"You know that that girl was going to get kidnapped?" Justin was right beside me, glaring at Punk while Heath and Zeke crowded my left side. Punk scowled at him.

"No, I didn't know that she was going to disappear, you moron. I just had a feeling." He turned back to me.

"Do you feel it?" I paused, although why, I didn't know. Before the question was even asked, I had my answer.

"Yeah. I feel it."

"Is she alive?" Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before I responded in an unsteady voice.

"No. She's not alive." Heath, Zeke, and Justin turned and looked at me. Looking away from Punk, I met Justin's eyes. Those same soft brown eyes that had been able to calm me down, make me laugh and smile, and make me want to do things that I've never done before in my life. They were the eyes of my mate – whether I wanted him to be or not – and they were searching my own eyes for an answer.

"John?" Justin's voice was soft, warm, and full of concern. I knew that I was going to answer him, even before he spoke.

"As soon as I saw the broadcast, I got this horrible, sinking feeling in my gut, and I knew that she was dead. I don't know how I know that, but I do."

"It's your intuition. You should listen to yours more often Gabriel. Maybe it'd help you get laid." Justin turned to Punk and growled.

"Fuck off, Punk."

"Ouch. That really hurt, Gabs."

"Punk, maybe you should get laid or somethin'." Punk's gaze turned to Heath and he sneered.

"Just because I don't fuck my mate everywhere I go doesn't mean I'm not getting any." Heath opened his mouth to retort, but I beat him to the chase.

"Have you and Christian figured anything out yet?" Punk looked at me before he shook his head and sighed.

"No, not yet. But I think we're getting close. Maybe we'll figure something out…" _when the girl is found dead _was left unsaid.

Nodding to Punk, I grabbed Justin's hand and poked at Heath and Zeke and we headed towards our dorm rooms. Heath and Zeke were talking to each other about Punk, and they barely said good night when we parted ways. Justin and I remained quiet until we entered our dorm room and locked the door. Sighing heavily, I sat down on my bed, feeling worn out and tired. Why the hell were teenagers disappearing? Why were they being killed? What was killing them? How could I do anything to stop it? I was so lost in my train of thought that I didn't realize that Justin had pushed me down onto the bed and was climbing on top of me until he kissed me.

Startled, I jerked for a few seconds before I relaxed and kissed him back. His lips were warm and soft and so damn addictive. Moaning, I pulled him closer, loving how his warm body fit against my own so perfectly. I know that I probably shouldn't have responded like I had, and that, given what I just watched, I probably should have called Dave, but I just…couldn't. Not only that, but I didn't want to. Being with Justin like this, making out with him on my bed, relieved some of my tension, my concern, my fear, and my agitation. Hell, being with him like this, and in general, made me feel a bit happier than I was nowadays and it calmed and soothed me. Was it because he was my mate? Honestly, I had no freaking clue, but it was what it was, and who was I to deny it?

When I felt his need press against my thigh, I pulled away, reluctantly and still craving more of him. I probably would have let it go even further, but I didn't want to do it. Not yet, anyway, and certainly not like this. Justin released a soft laugh and pressed his face against my neck, his breath caressing my skin and making me feel as though I were on fire. There was no way that I could deny that I was attracted to him and that pulling away made me feel...hollow? Whatever the term for it was, I didn't like feeling that way. Placing a soft kiss to my neck, Justin sat up and pulled me with him.

"You should shower and get some sleep. It's late and you need the rest." I nodded and stood up, gathering my pajamas with one hand.

"Should I call Dave or wait until morning?" I asked, turning to look at him. Justin's eyes met mine and I saw the same hollowness within them that I felt myself.

"It's late. Call him in the morning." Nodding, I entered the bathroom and closed the door.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Things just keep getting weirder and weirder for John, don't they? He hasn't seen anything yet. I'd like to thank you guys for all of your support and encouragement. You guys are the best. Really, you are. Here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-One**

I called Dave when Justin was in the shower the next morning. It rang twice before he answered, sounding tired and sleepy.

"Hey, John."

"Hey, Dave. Did you…did you hear about Julie?" Dave sighed before answering. My heart squeezed. I hated hearing him talk, or even sigh, when it came to the murders. He always sounds so drained and sad, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Not right now, anyway.

"Yeah. She disappeared, just like Mike and Tony. And we were supposed to hang out today and work on our science project."

"Science project?" Even though I couldn't see him, I knew he was nodding.

"Julie and I are both in Environmental Science this year and we have to do a partner project. It's due Friday and we need to finish it up…" Fucking hell. Sitting down on my bed, I chewed on my lip and fought of the urge to flip shit. Michael and Anthony were Dave's best friends, and Julie was his lab partner. It seemed as though someone was targeting Dave or the people around him to, eventually get to him. Just like the night before when I had seen the news broadcast about Julie, I knew that my hunch was correct.

"Dave, you're in danger."

"John, what are you talking about?"

"I know it's hard to believe. It's kind of hard to explain, but it makes sense when you think about it. First Michael, then Anthony, and now, Julie's gone missing. All three of them had ties to you. It makes sense that you're probably a target and that you may be next." Dave sucked in a deep breath.

"What should I do?" The bed dipped down beside me and, before I could even speak, Justin grabbed the phone from me and started talking.

"Hey! Give me my phone back."

"John, hush. Dave? This is Justin."

"Oh. The annoying dog boy that wouldn't go away." Justin growled softly.

"John's turning into a dog boy too, so shut up. Listen to me for a second. You need to find a safe place to hide out for a little while until whoever or whatever that's been murdering your friends is caught or killed."

"Julie's not dead." Justin sighed and I frowned at him, listening in of his conversation with Dave.

"How do you know she's alive?" Growling, I took my phone back and sent Justin a glare.

"I'm sorry about that, Dave. Seriously though, Justin's right. You need to find some place safe to hide out."

"John, I have school, football practice, and my family to worry about. I can't just up and leave all of that hanging." Feeling at a loss and close to a slight panic, I nodded in agreement.

"I know. But what else can we do? You're in danger and I don't want you to get hurt or worse." Dave chuckled, like he was up to something.

"Don't worry, John. I've got myself covered." Groaning, I leaned on my left and fell into Justin, who pouted and protested briefly.

"Shut up, Justin. Dave, what did you do?" Dave laughed and I felt a smile tug at my lips. Hearing him laugh, even just a small one, made everything a little better.

"Oh…you know. My mom and dad were worried when Mike went missing, and even more so when he turned up…well…. Anyway, so that allowed me to get a knife." Everything fell silent for a split second, and then, I began to speak up, flabbergasted that he'd actually done something so stupid.

"What? Dave, you didn't really…Are you fucking kidding me? What if you cut yourself, you dipshit? What if you lose it? What if you get kidnapped and it's used against you? Have you ever thought of that? Besides, weapons aren't allowed in the high school, so you're shit out of luck, anyway and –"

"John…John…John! Shut up for one second!" Dave's voice didn't get every loud, but then again, he rarely had to yell at the top of his lungs. After all, he was a pretty big guy, and you'd be a total dumbass to not listen to him the first time.

"Sorry…" I said weakly. From beside me, Justin snickered, muttering something about getting revenge for my leaning on him. Elbowing him in the side, I hushed him before telling Dave to continue.

"Are you done freakin' out, man?"

"Yes, I am done."

"Good. To be honest, I never thought about my knife being used against me, so I'll have to look out for that, but the other stuff? I'm not sweatin' it. I'm not going to hurt myself with it, because I'm not a klutz like some people I know." I felt myself blush a little bit, knowing very well that the 'some people' he was talking about, was actually me.

"And I've been keeping it in my book bag, hidden and out of sight. No one but my parents know I even have it. Besides, I'm the quarter back of the football team, so I'm a good student and shit like that. I never get into trouble, John-John. Even if a teacher did stop me, they'd let me go. You know how it is."

"Yeah…I do." Football at my old high school was just like football at any other high school in the country: a big deal. Which I understood. It was a great sport; a lot of fun to play and watch. But the players on the team always got away with stuff (like underage drinking) and it was never really fair. However, that was the norm and, to be honest, it never bothered me that much.

"I gotta go, John. I need to get to school and stuff. I'm sure there'll be a lot more…uh, panic about, well, you know."

"I do know. Just give me a heads up if anyone, like my dad, starts shit again."

"Will do. Stay safe, John."

"No, _you_ stay safe." Dave scoffed mockingly and I cracked a smile.

"Me? Stay safe? Why not you, little man?" Rolling my eyes, I shook my head and laughed.

"Because I'm not a weak, little human, am I" There was a short pause before Dave sighed mockingly in defeat.

"No…you're not a weak, little human. You're a hot Selected wolf student at Hell High. And I bet it'd be fucking hot if you bit people when having sex." My face started turning red and I looked over at Justin, who was smirking and wiggling his eye brows at me. Shoving him off of my bed, I laughed, a bit embarrassed by what Dave had said.

"Dave, I've never even had sex before. And I highly doubt that I'll bit whoever I happen to be having sex with." He laughed.

"You never know, John. You never know."

We exchanged our good-byes before I hung up the phone. Throwing it haphazardly on my bed, I stood up and started getting dressed for class. Justin picked himself up off the floor before rummaging through his own closet.

"So…sounded like you two were having a nice conversation. One for little virgin ears." I looked over at him and scowled, though it was only half-heartedly. I didn't mean it and, judging by the shit-face grin on Justin's face, he was enjoying our banter.

"You know damn well exactly what we were talking about. You heard everything."

I put on my t-shirt and a pair of jeans before grabbing socks and shoes. Justin laughed and turned around, already dressed and looking… How did he look? Hot? Sexy? Amazing? Yeah, he looked like all of those things. But was it okay that I thought he did? Technically, he was my mate, so I should be attracted to him, right? Right. So it was ridiculous of me to feel guilty about thinking how hot Justin looked as we grabbed our stuff and headed towards the common area kitchen for some breakfast. Right?

Well, there was only one person I felt like I could talk to about mates and stuff. And that was Evan.

Classes went by as usual. We started a new unit in Werewolf Soc. It was about the first American werewolves and how they interacted with each other in packs and as 'lone wolves'. Professor Jensen explained to us how important it is for the wolf to have or belong to a pack, which is why Selected werewolf students were seen as the rowdy, social butterflies of the five species. Overall, the lecture was, as usual, amazing and I didn't even mind the six page packet we were given for homework. Intro to Folklore was outstanding, even by Professor O's standards. We finished up the Native American unit and started on the ancient Chinese legends of old, starting with the Chinese Zodiac.

All too soon, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for lunch. Justin and I made our way to the cafeteria and grabbed our trays and food before we went to our usual booth. Evan was already there, as usual, and so was Beth, who was talking animatedly about some report due in one of her classes. When we sat down, Evan flashed us a bright smile and gave us a 'hi' while Beth grinned and poked Justin, immediately pulling him into a conversation. While Beth was busy talking to Justin about the entire gang going out to the movies this weekend, I talked to Evan.

"Hey, Evan?" He looked up at me as he stuffed his mouth full of salad. Evan quickly chewed while I smiled at him, glad to see that he was still feeling a bit better than he had been when we first met.

"Yeah, John?" Evan asked after he swallowed his food. Shifting slightly in my seat, I leaned in close and he did the same.

"Can I…can I talk to you later about something…important?" A look of confusion passed Evan's face and he looked at Beth and Justin, who were still talking. Heath and Zeke showed up just then, and they provided even more of a cover.

"Is it something you can't talk to Justin about?" He asked. I looked over at Justin and sighed. There was no way I could talk to Justin about, well, Justin. It had to be Evan.

"No. It's something that I think only you can help me with. I'd feel much better if I could talk to you." Evan nodded as I spoke and then smiled at me, reassuringly.

"Sure, no problem. Why don't we meet up before dinner tonight and go for a walk? Walk and talk, y'know?" He grinned and started bouncing in his seat, all excited. Laughing, I nodded.

"Sure. We can do that. Thanks, Ev." Stabbing his fork into his salad, he shrugged and tore off a piece of lettuce.

"No problem."

We all joined in with Beth and Justin's discussion on maybe going to the movies this weekend. Heath was all for it, but Zeke brought up Julie. He said that if, she turned up murdered like Michael and Anthony, that the school may not allow us to leave the school grounds until the murderer was caught. This brought a damper on the conversation, and lunch continued with a somber atmosphere. Lunch ended and Justin and I made our way to our Wolf History class.

Our textbook had started reading into biographies of famous werewolves on Monday, starting with the first known werewolf: Socrates. Apparently, Socrates' trial and death had more to do with the fact that he was a werewolf and less to do with his opposition to the direction in which Athens' government was going. Professor Stein explained to us that the reason why many people don't believe that today is because of the Athens government today and the fact that it neither proves nor disproves what is known in werewolf society today.

P.E. was, well, what any other P.E. class would be: a lot of exercise and running. But I enjoyed it; it got my blood pumping and I loved exercising and running. After Professor Skyle told us to hit the showers, we changed out of our gym clothes and left for the last class of the day: Sociology. Beth was already there when we arrived and she waved us over. Sitting down, I waited for class to start and was surprised that Kelly didn't sit by me as usual. It was nice though; I didn't want to have to claw the bitch's eyes out (I mean, how dense can you be to not know a guy's gay?). Class went by fast, thank God, and the next thing I knew, Justin, Beth, and I were leaving class and heading towards our dorms. I told Justin when we entered the common area of our dorm that I had to do some extra research and that I'd see him at dinner. He smiled and me and hugged me before letting me go. Grabbing my cell, I shot a quick text to Evan, telling him that I was on my way.

Since I had been at Hell High for over a month, I knew my way around pretty well (who knew it'd take me a month?). In no time at all, I was walking over to Evan with a smile on my face. He looked up when he heard me and he smiled as I approached him.

"Hey, Evan."

"Hey, John. Shall we go outside and walk around for a bit?" Eying the same door that I took on my last walk, I nodded and we went outside. The night air was chilly and a light breeze was blowing, but it wasn't too bad, especially after we started walking.

"So, John, what did you need to talk to me about?" I knew that the topic I wanted to discuss with him would bring up a lot of unwanted feelings, but I needed to know.

"It's about mates, Evan." From beside me, I felt Evan tense slightly, and I sighed, feeling bad. But there wasn't anything I could really do about it.

"What about them?"

"Well...what happens when you don't, you know…"

"Bond with your mate?" I nodded and Evan sighed.

"Well, if you don't bond with your mate, and yes, in _that_ way, you become anxious. And then sad, very sad; depressed even. You start to withdraw from your family and friends; you start to not care about anything. You don't want anything, not when you can't have them. What's the point? And then, after a while, if anyone mentions anything, you start to lash out."

"That's…awful." Evan nodded and continued.

"There's more. If your mate continues to deny you or doesn't return your feelings and bond with you, then, eventually, you die. Even if you've made it through Completion and have been an adult werewolf for years, you will die. Simple as that."

We stopped walking and I gazed at Evan. He started down at the ground, shuffling his feet and kicking a few stones. It must have been extremely hard for him to talk about something like this. And I felt bad for asking him about it; really, I did. Evan was probably thinking about Chris, and now that I knew what would happen if they didn't get back together, it made me appreciate Evan a helluva lot more. If Chris didn't get over whatever the fuck he wasn't getting over, then Evan was going to die! No way in hell would I let that happen.

"Why are you asking me this, John?" Evan looked up, confusion and genuine curiosity and concern evident in his brown eyes. I sighed.

"Justin's my mate, and I like him. A lot. A lot a lot, but there's this other guy, Dave, who was best friend before we had a falling out. We just recently started reconnecting again…" Evan nodded and patted my upper arm sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, man."

"It's okay. I mean, I really like Justin, but I also kind of like Dave. I'm just so damn confused right now it's not even funny!"

"Well, have you and Justin…bonded yet?" I shook my head.

"No. The most we've done is made out. And it was awesome. But still…you know?" Evan nodded.

"Yeah, I understand. I've been friends with Justin since he arrived here, and he's always been very…mischievous. But then again, our whole group is practically mischievous. Anyway, he may act like that, but there's no one here he can really talk to. At least, there wasn't until you arrived. Ever since you arrived here, John, he's been…different. A good different, a better different. So I know that he's told you that you and Dave now live in two entirely different worlds and that you'll live for way longer and all that stuff." I laughed softly and Evan grinned up at me.

"Yeah, he did that my first night here."

"I figured as much. Since he's already explained that to you, I won't, but I will say this: John, having a mate is forever. It's a huge relief and a huge burden all at the same time. You may feel as though you don't want your mate or that you actually care for someone else, but that's not how it works. The farther along you get into being Selected, the more you'll crave and desire your mate. You can reject it, but it won't bring any good to you or your mate. And if you do reject it, then it will, literally, be the death of both of you."

Evan checked his cell phone and gasped as he realized that it was time for dinner already. We made our way to the dietary, talking and joking as we went. But as I sat down next to Justin, I couldn't help but feel happy and sad, relieved and guilty. I had a mate, someone who would become my other half as time went on, and I could help but wonder quietly to myself as we ate if I could ever reject him. By the time dinner ended, I had my answer. No, I could never reject him. And that meant that I'd have to talk to Dave about my decision. As if he didn't have enough to worry about.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. Things have been hectic this past week and I've had zero time to write anything. I hope you guys like this chapter. R&R. Enjoy.

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

Justin, Heath, and I were sitting on one of the couches watching _American Pickers_ when someone from a couch near ours hollered for his friends. Looking over, slightly annoyed, I was about to tell him to shut it when I saw that he was watching the news. Grabbing the remote from Heath, I changed the channel to the news and watched the broadcast.

_"We regret to inform you that the decapitated body of Julie Maxwell has been found by the road near the woods surrounding the local Hell High_ _finishing school. The local authorities have no leads on the case so far, but are working diligently and have patrol cars on constant watch. Chief Wiley believes that his detectives and investigators have some leads on who may behind this grizzly and horribly murders. More news at eleven."_

Everyone stayed quiet for a few seconds. And then, a few guys started talking, which got everyone talking. Soon, the entire common area was filled with the sounds of teenage boys arguing, speculating, and being normal teenagers.

"Did you see her school picture?"

"Yeah. She was a total babe. Had a nice rack, too."

"I wonder who's killing human teens."

"It is kind of weird. I mean, this town's barely had a fire, let alone three murders."

Justin shook his head as he listened to some of the conversations, disgust written clearly on his face. I looked around, watching the other guys, and stopped when I found Punk, standing at the entrance of the hallway that led to the dorms. He looked tired and like crap, but he still met my gaze evenly before he turned and returned to his room. Turning back to Heath and Justin, I saw that Heath was staring at me, his mouth opened slightly.

"Dang, John. You're a good friend and all, but your intuition stuff or whatever's kinda scary. I mean, you've only been here for a little while and you're already gettin' these weird feelings that turn out right."

The more Heath talked, the worse I felt. I mean, I didn't ask to have this intuition crap or anything. All I wanted was to fit in, make it to Completion, and live the rest of my life. I didn't want Michael, Anthony, or Julie to die; I didn't want Dave to hurt like this; I didn't even want to be Selected. But I was Selected, Dave was hurting, and there was nothing I could do to bring Michael, Anthony, or Julie back from the dead.

Justin must have seen the look on the face, because he smacked Heath on the back of the head.

"Ow! Dang, that hurt like hell! Why'd you smack me, Justin?" Justin rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Because you're being a douche bag." Heath tilted his head to the side.

"Huh?" Justin pointed at me, a glare on his face, and Heath turned to look at me once again. As soon as he saw me, guilt spread across his face and Heath started talking again.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry, John. I wasn't tryin' t' be mean or anythin' like that. I was just sayin'… I didn't mean to hurt ya or anythin' like that. I swear…" Heath's ramblings made me feel a little better. I knew that he didn't mean any harm, but that didn't stop my mind from wandering. Nodding, I stood up.

"It's all good, Heath. No harm, no foul. I, uh…I'm going back to the room. I'll see ya later, Heath." Heath nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but I was walking away, anxious to get away from the common area.

I walked back to the room I shared with Justin, thinking about how I should call Dave and talk to him about Julie. He probably knew about her… Hell, I knew that he knew about her death. Thinking about what to say, I opened the door and gasped as I was dragged into the room roughly by Punk. Punk closed the door and turned to me.

"Have you watched the news, recently?" Sighing, I nodded and sat down on the chair at my desk.

"Yes, I have. And hi, how are you, too?" Punk rolled his eyes and sat down on my bed.

"We don't have time for small talk, John." Running a hand over my face, I turned to him and studied him. Punk had been looking better over the past few days. He still looked like crap, but he looked better.

"You're looking better." Punk sighed and shook his head.

"Yeah. Who knew that make-up would actually come in handy?"

"Make-up? You're…you're wearing make-up?" I started laughing and Punk narrowed his eyes at me.

"Yes, Johnny boy, I am wearing make-up. How else was I supposed to look normal? If McMahon saw me looking like shit, then he'd think I was investigating what he's up to. And he'd be right. So I kind of had no choice. Now, shut up or I'll unleash my make-up applying skills on you, and believe me, that's not something you want." That only made me laugh harder and Punk growled.

"John! You need to focus!" Nodding, I straightened up and stared at him, feeling better. Who knew that Punk would actually make someone feel better?

"Okay, okay. So, why are you here, Punk?" Punk took a deep breath before he started speaking.

"Christian wants us to go out to where they found that girl's body."

"What?" Punk nodded, confirming what he said. I stared at him, dumbfounded, for a minute before I started protesting.

"Punk, there is no freaking way we can do that! The police will have it blocked off. There will be more patrol cars out. And besides, what could we find that he couldn't?" Punk rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"When he said _us_, Christian meant himself, you, Justin and I, dumbass. Christian's gone through Completion. His senses are far superior to yours and mine. If there's a strange scent at the scene, he'd be able to pick up on it. Justin's sense are, as much as it pains me to say this, equal to my own, which is unusual in a first year Selected student. And you, well, I've told him all about you, so he knows what you know and he wants you there." I sighed and propped my head up in my hand as my elbow rested on my desk.

"And when are we supposed to do this?"

"Tonight after curfew. As long as Christian is with us, we won't get in trouble. But that's no important. What is important is that we find out what's going on, and going to the scene may help us. Christian said about going to the other scenes as well, but since they're older than the girl's, we may not find anything."

"Why are you telling just me just now? Why didn't you send Justin and I a text or something?" Punk scoffed and sent me a glare.

"Please. As much as I love working with you and Justin, I don't want anyone thinking we're friends. Because we're not." He got up and walked over to the door.

"When and where are we supposed to meet to do this…thing?"

"I told you, dumbass, after curfew. And the two of you are supposed to meet us outside of the school gates. Got it?" I nodded. Punk opened the door and nearly bumped right into Justin, who looked less than pleased at finding Punk in our room. Glaring at the fifth year Selected werewolf, Justin entered the room, pushing past Punk.

"What are you doing here, Punk?" Punk sneered at him and walked out into the hall.

"Johnny boy will explain. Don't worry, Gabriel. I've got no desire to fuck your mate. Believe me when I say that he's all yours." Punk smiled sickeningly sweet at Justin before closing our door and leaving the two of us alone. Justin turned to me, his eyes full of worry and concern.

"Don't worry. I'm not attracted to Punk at all. He's…uh, he's gross." Justin tilted his head to the side, trying to hide the smile that was growing on his face.

"Gross, huh?"

"Yeah, he's gross. I'd never have sex with him. Anyway, he wants you and I to meet him and Christian outside the school gates tonight after curfew. Apparently, Christian wants us to scope out the last murder sight." Justin nodded and sat down on my bed.

"Can I ask you something?" Hearing his tone of voice, I looked at him; I mean, _really_ looked at him. Justin looked kind of worn out and tired, and I felt a pang of guilt stab my heart.

"Anything." Justin nodded and shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you…do you still want to be with Dave?" I stared at him with what probably looked like an extremely dumb expression. His question was kind of…out of the blue. Taking my silence as a bad thing, Justin started rambling, looking like someone had kicked his puppy.

"I know that I told you that I wasn't going to push you. That I'd give you space and stuff. But I just…Well I was…wondering and…" I could help but smile at how embarrassed he looked, and he frowned at me.

"Don't laugh at me!"

"I'm not laughing at you. And to answer your question, I don't want to be with Dave in that way…not any more anyway." Justin perked up at that, and his eyes lightened.

"Really?" I smiled.

"Really. I…kind of had a talk with Evan about the whole mate stuff, and I understand it a lot better. And, to be honest with you, I'm starting to like you. A lot." Justin smiled at that as he grabbed my jacket and moved me so that I was lying on top of him.

"Good. Because, as you already know, I like you a helluva lot myself." Justin's lips pressed against my own in a soft kiss. It wasn't anything passionate or heated, but it was perfect. It was just right and it made me feel warm inside. The warm feeling continued and grew into something I didn't recognize. But I liked it, and it felt right, so I didn't question it.

The kiss didn't last long, and before I knew it, we had separated and Justin allowed me to roll off of him and onto my bed. Sitting up, he looked at me and smiled before getting up.

"So, we have to meet Punk and Christian later tonight?"

"Yep." Justin nodded and sat down on his chair at his desk.

"And we're going to break curfew to search for…clues?" I nodded.

"Yep."

"Sounds like fun."

The rest of the evening went by fast. Dinner especially, as Beth was plotting with Heath on what movie we should all go see. I remained quiet and listened to my friends, wanting to tell them about the plans Justin and I had later that night, but I knew that they'd want to go. Since that was out of the question, I kept quiet and ate my chicken tenders in peace. After dinner ended, Justin, Heath, Zeke, and I returned to our dorm and hung out until Heath and Zeke left for their room. As curfew drew nearer and nearer, more of our fellow Selected teens went to their rooms until only Justin and I remained. Punk was nowhere to be seen, which I thought was odd.

As soon as curfew started, Justin and I crept out of the dorm and made our way silently out of the dormitory area and down the stairs. We had to stop a couple times and duck in a nearby bathroom to avoid the occasional professor, but other than that, we had no problems getting outside. Once outside, Justin and I stayed hidden within the shadows until we reached the school gates, which were already opened. Justin paused and looked around before he grabbed my hand and led the both of us through the gates. The woods surrounding the school made everything ten times darker; even the moon's light was blocked, allowing little light to shine through. It was perfect for us; it allowed us to remain hidden.

"There you two are. God, we've been waiting forever. Slow much?"

"Punk, don't be a jerk off. Considering the circumstances, I bet they're a little unsure of themselves." Peering into the darkness to our left, I could barely make out the outlines of Punk and Christian. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I began to see them more clearly until I could see them perfectly. Huh. My senses must be getting sharper or something.

"Sorry we took so long. We needed to duck and cover while a few professors roamed the halls." Christian's eyes fell on me and I looked down. This was my first time actually talking to him; I barely knew the man, plus he was Punk's mentor. He had to have a lot of patience and guts to put up with Punk twenty-four seven.

"Professors? Did you recognize any of them?" My brow furrowed in confusion at Christian's question. I shook my head and responded.

"No. I didn't recognize any of them. Why?" Christian didn't answer right away. And Punk sighed as we waited for his response.

"No reason. Now, let's get this shit moving. We'll be walking for a good twenty minutes or so. That's how long it'll take us to reach the Maxwell crime scene. What I want the three of you to do is focus. Concentrate. If you feel anything, like, for example, that something isn't right, that something is wrong with the crime scene, _let me know._ If you smell anything that doesn't belong, tell me." We started walking, Christian in the lead and Punk, Justin, and I following.

"What do you think is happening to the teenagers?" Justin asked the adult werewolf. Christian sighed and looked over his shoulder as he continued walking. Shaking his head, Christian answered.

"The police and local news channels believe it to be a wolf or perhaps even a rogue werewolf, both of which are possible. But from what I've seen and have been told," Christian glanced over at Punk and I before he returned his gaze forward, "there's no way a wolf could have murdered those teenagers. And rogue werewolves are caught and disposed of immediately by the closest Hell High school nearby. Had there been one, I would have taken care of it, even if I wasn't informed by the school to do so."

"That still didn't answer my question." Christian laughed.

"You're right, it doesn't. Well, to be honest, I think whatever or whoever is murdering these teenagers is connected to McMahon. From what Punk has told me about his experiences and your own, John, McMahon has been behaving strangely. Even before the two of you spoke up, he's been acting odd. I've noticed and so have other members of the staff. Perhaps tonight will provide us with something useful."

After that, the conversation died down. We continued walking, making our way further and further into the woods. Minutes ticked by, and before I knew it, the trees around us were spreading out and the road ahead was becoming clearer. Bright yellow police tape could be seen separating the crime scene from the rest of the woods, and seeing it made me feel sick. Christian stopped walking when we were a few feet away from the scene.

"Okay, here's where our job begins. Be sure to listen to our senses and intuition. Any sort of feeling will help us out. Now, I'm going to circle the area and see if I can pick up on anything. The three of you need to focus on just the crime scene." Nodding, I watched as Christian left us and started walking around the area, always keeping at least ten feet between himself and the crime scene.

Punk started for the crime scene, keeping to the left. I watched as his eyes flickered over everything: the trees, the ground still stained with blood, the road, everything. Justin remained beside me and didn't move until I started walking towards the taped off area. The moon shone down upon us brightly, giving us more than enough light to see. White paint outlined where Julie's body had rested, and I felt sick looking at it. As I got closer to the white outline, the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up. Goose bumps began crawling up my arms, making the tiny hairs stand up straight. Ducking under the yellow police tape, I stood close to the outline and stared at it. I could barely feel Justin's intense gaze locked onto me; I was just so wrapped up in the outline.

All of a sudden, Dave popped into my mind and a bad feeling hit me like a hammer on a nail. Something bad was going to happen to Dave; I could feel it. Julie's body outline brought that feeling upon me, and I wanted nothing more than to call Dave and force him to steer away from danger. But I had left my cell phone in the dorm room. And even if I had it with me, he'd be in bed, sleeping, and probably wouldn't listen to me anyway.

"John? John, what's wrong?"

Justin's voice felt far away, and it seemed so surreal, so strange, considering he was standing right beside me. I couldn't focus on anything; the very thought of Dave getting hurt was all that I thought about. Sure, I may not want to be with him anymore, but he was still my friend and I didn't want him to get hurt. From out of nowhere, Christian was beside me and he grabbed my shoulders and shook me, bringing me back to reality.

"John? Tell me what's going on, John." Christian's voice was gentle, but held a command in it that quickly snapped me out of my daze. I blinked and looked at him.

"Something bad is going to happen to Dave. I know it. I just…I _know_ it." Christian nodded and released me.

"We've done our work here. Let's go back home." Punk followed Christian while I spare once last glance at Julie's body outline. I didn't waste more than a few seconds though; after all, Dave's life was in danger.

"Did you figure anything out, Christian" Justin asked as we caught up to him and Punk. Christian paused for a moment and looked at the three of us before he answered.

"Yes, I did." We waited for him to continue, and he didn't let us down.

"Whatever or whoever attacked the teenage girl was the same thing that attacked the two teenage boys. And whatever or whoever that was was most definitely not a werewolf, adult or otherwise." I stared at him, puzzled.

"Then what, or who, did it?" Christian shook his head and frowned.

"I don't know yet. But the scent is familiar."

"How do you know it wasn't a werewolf?" Punk asked his mentor, sounding tired and drained.

"The marks on some of the trees around the crime scene were inconsistent of a werewolf attack and a wolf has paws. The marks I found weren't made by paws. Plus, werewolves have a general scent that is distinguishable, and I didn't smell that scent. While the scent I picked up was familiar, it was too vague for me to place."

"Did we learn anything that was actually useful?" Christian sent a half-hearted glare in Punk's direction, but answered him nonetheless.

"Yes, we did, Mr. Bitchy. We know that a werewolf didn't kill the teenagers. We've learned that there may be another victim: Dave, whoever he is. And we know that someone or something is definitely murdering teenagers and that the scent is familiar, which means that it must be someone we all know. And judging by the marks I found and the state of the bodies found, whoever or whatever is killing these teenagers won't stop until they're killed."

A/N: And that concludes this chapter. By the way, you guys owe it to Coheed and Cambria, specifically their two songs _A Favor House Atlantic _and _Crossing the Frame_. It was because of those two songs that I finished the chapter tonight. So go and listen to those two songs, and love them, and listen to more, and be grateful! :D


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Things are heating up rather quickly for John, aren't they? Who, or what, is killing the teenagers? What will happen to Dave? Who knows? Continue reading, and you'll find out. Thanks for all of the support and encouragement you all give me. Let me say that there will be two 'bonus' chapters to this story after it has officially ended. They won't be posted, of course, until the story is 'complete'. That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter and those yet to come. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

Once Justin and I returned to our dorm room, I grabbed my phone and called Dave. It rang once. Twice. A third time. It continued ringing until it reached his voice mail. Growling, I tried again and a third time. Both ended up the same and I tossed my phone onto my bed and collapsed onto it, frustrated, worried, and upset. Justin sat down beside me and ran a hand through my hair. Although the gesture was small, it calmed me down a little bit and allowed me to think clearly.

"It's late, John. Dave's probably in bed, sleeping. Call him tomorrow, before classes. He should answer you then." I nodded and sat up, giving Justin a brief, strained smile. He kissed my forehead and stood up.

"Did you want to shower first?" I shook my head, got up, and sat down at my desk and turned on my laptop.

"No, you go ahead and shower, Justin. I'll take mine when you're done."

"Okay. If you say so." Justin gathered his pajamas and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I logged onto my laptop and then logged into my Facebook. If Dave was still up, I'd be able to message him on there.

Unfortunately, he wasn't on, but I did leave a comment on his wall, telling him to call me as soon as possible. Logging off my laptop, I grabbed my pajamas and waited for Justin to finish his shower. He came out ten minutes later, dressed in his SpongeBob pajama bottoms and a Superman t-shirt. Drying his hair with a towel, he looked at me and grinned, gesturing to his pajamas.

"You like? I make 'em look sexy, yeah?" I couldn't help but grin at him.

"Oh yeah, you look pretty damn sexy in those." Justin's grinned widened and he sat down on the bed.

"Glad you agree. The bathroom's all yours, John." I got up and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

Undressing, I tossed my clothes into the hamper and stepped into the shower. Turning the hot water on, I leaned my head against the shower wall as the water rained down upon me. Today hand been exhausting to say the least; calling Dave first thing in the morning, going to classes, talking with Evan, watching that news broadcast, and going out to search Julie's crime scene was all a bit too much to handle in just one day. Not to mention that feeling I got when we were at the crime scene, the one about Dave…

I was worried about him. I may have chosen Justin over him, but he didn't know that yet. For all I knew, he was in trouble, hurt and in danger somewhere, and all I had to go on it was a feeling. Sighing, I washed my hair and cleaned myself off before I turned the water off and stepped out. Grabbing a towel, I dried myself off and then put my pajamas on. Stepping out of the shower, I saw that the lights were off and that Justin was in his bed. Yawning, I crawled into my own bed and pulled the blankets over my body.

All of a sudden, I felt extremely tired. Thank God I was in my bed, getting ready to fall asleep. Minutes ticked by. For some reason, I was still awake, even though my eyes were droopy and I was dead tired. My bed dipped down and I felt Justin maneuver himself underneath my blankets. He snuggled in behind me and pressed a kiss to my neck. I hummed and relaxed into his embrace. Justin continued to kiss my neck and his arms wrapped around me, his hands going underneath my shirt and caressing my skin. A moan slipped past my lips unintentionally and I turned my head to look at him. Pulling away from my neck, Justin stared at me for a few seconds before pressing his lips to mine.

Turning so that I was lying on my back, I pulled Justin closer to me, wanting to _feel_ him against me. His body was warming and hard as it pressed against my own. Justin continued to kiss me, his tongue pressing against my lips, and I opened up, allowing him to enter. Slipping his tongue into my mouth, I moaned softly and tangled my hands in his hair. It was soft and it smelled nice. Just like him. When I felt his hard on press against me, I broke the kiss and panted, looking away from him. Pressing his face against my neck, Justin heaved and snuggled against me, placing a soft kiss to my neck.

"Sorry…sorry… Didn't mean to…get carried away…" I nodded and snuggled into him, glad that he was here even if he was still hard. Okay, I'm not an idiot; I know all about sex. What guy doesn't? We learn about it before most girls get their periods. But just because I knew a lot about it didn't mean I had ever done it before. After all, I was the drama geek at my old school, which basically meant that I was at the bottom of the social ladder.

"It's okay…" We stayed like that, snuggled against each other, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

I woke up when the alarm went off. Justin groaned and held onto me, burying his face against my neck.

"I don't wanna get up…"

I laughed and poked him a couple of times before he finally got up. Grumbling, Justin shook his head and got up. Turning off the alarm he yawned and stretched. Yawning myself, I rolled over and grabbed my phone, hope welling up inside my chest. Maybe Dave called me. That's what I was hoping for, anyway. However, when I unplugged it from the charger and unlocked it, I found that there no messages more missed calls. There was nothing, except a picture of my brother, Dan, and I, the time, date, and my apps.

Frowning, I sat down on my bed and called Dave. However, just like the night before, it went to voice mail. Hanging up before the voice mail message ended, I got up and took off my shirt and pajama pants. Putting on a pair of jeans and a plain, black shirt, I got ready for classes. The bad feeling that had hit me last night at the crime scene returned full force and I had to lean against the wall to keep myself from reeling too much.

"John? Are you okay?" Justin came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself down and I nodded.

"I…I'm fine. It's just…I've got the same bad feeling I had last night. Dave didn't answer my call a few minutes ago. Something's wrong, Justin."

"John, maybe he's-"

"No! Justin, something is not right. Believe me. Please, believe me." I looked into his brown eyes, pleading with him. After searching my eyes, Justin nodded and pulled me into a hug.

"I believe you, John. If you say something is wrong with Dave, then something is wrong."

"What are we going to do?" Justin pulled away and thought for a moment, his back facing me. Nodding to himself, he turned around, determination written clearly across his face.

"I have no idea what to do. But if we talk to the others about it, they may be able to give some insight on this. Besides, the more people thinking about this, the more theories we can generate and eliminate." I stayed quiet for a minute, thinking about it.

"It's better than doing nothing, John." Nodding, I looked up at him.

"You're right. There's nothing we can really do now, but if we get together with the others, we might be able to come up with something."

"Then it's decided. Right now, though, we must get to class. If we draw unwanted attention to ourselves, it could be our ruin."

Grabbing our things, we headed out the door and went to the kitchen of our common area. Heath and Zeke were already there and were eating bowls of _Franken Berry _cereal. Justin and I stared at them. Zeke shrugged and pointed his spoon at Heath, who remained purposefully oblivious to our scrutiny. Opening the cabinet, I took out a box of _Boo Berry_ and poured myself a bowl. Shaking his head, Justin grabbed a cereal bar, and started eating. Punk entered the kitchen and went to grab a cereal bar when he spotted what Heath, Zeke, and I were eating. Scowling, he shook his head in disgust.

"I swear, you guys are worse than my kid sister, and she's seven." I shrugged and responded before Heath could.

"You only live once. Hey, I need to talk to you at lunch today." Turning to Heath and Zeke, who were staring at me as if I'd grown a second head, I spoke to them too.

"I need to talk to both of you at lunch as well. Could you text Beth and Evan for me, Heath, and tell them that we need to have a, uh, meeting?" Heath nodded and pulled out his phone. Finishing up my bowl of cereal, I placed it in the sink and grabbed Justin, dragging him over to the door.

"Thanks! See you guys at lunch."

Classes seemed to drag on and on. I couldn't help fidgeting in my seat and glancing at the clock. Professors Jensen and Orenda knew that something was up with me, but they didn't know what. Try as he might, Justin couldn't get me to calm down and relax. Finally, the bell rang and I sprang out of my seat and walked quickly to the dietary. Justin followed close behind me, trying to get me to stop walking so fast. We made it to the dietary just as Evan was. Grabbing onto sweater, I dragged him with me out into the courtyard.

"John! Gah! W-w-what's going…on? I got Heath's…t-t-text message, but what…?" Returning to the same spot we had occupied not all that long ago, I leaned against the wall and waited for the others to arrive. Evan stood beside me, gasping for breath. Glancing over at him, concern spread across my face as realization set in.

"Oh God, Evan! I am so sorry for choking you. I've just been…well…" He waved it off and loosened his collar.

"I'm fine…just kind of…surprised…" Just then, Heath, Zeke, and Beth walked over, genuine concern and confusion apparent on their faces.

"John, Heath sent me a text telling me to meet up out here. What's going on?"

"Yes, Johnny boy, what is going on?" Looking past Beth, I saw Punk walking over towards us. He stood beside Beth when he had reached us, and Beth scrunched up her nose and scooted a few feet away from him.

"I so don't want your mutt ass too close to me."

Punk rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He merely crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at me. Sighing, I quickly explained everything to Heath, Zeke, Evan, and Beth. I told them about what we did last night, what Christian discovered, and what I felt when I saw Julie's body outline. And then I told them about Dave not answering my calls last night or this morning. I ended with telling them about the feeling I had as I was getting ready for school. Once I had finished, I looked at each of them. Heath and Zeke were looking at each other, and I could practically see them reading each other's minds. Evan was look down at the ground, thoughtful, while Beth looked worried and perplexed. Finally, my eyes landed on Punk, who looked thoughtful and tired. He looked up at me and I sighed again, knowing what he was going to say.

"You think Dave's been kidnapped to, don't you?" Everyone looked at Punk, who nodded in response.

"Yeah, I do. It wasn't a coincidence that those three teens who died knew him. If I had a guess, I'd say that Dave was the target all along."

"But why, though? What's so important or special about him?" Beth asked. Punk shrugged.

"Maybe he's going to be Selected soon or somethin' like that. It's possible, innit?" Heath looked at Zeke, who merely shrugged and wrapped an arm around his mate's shoulder.

"It's possible, but if he were to be Selected, den he would have been so already."

"So, we can rule out that he may be getting Selected sometime soon, right?" Zeke nodded at Evan, who chewed on his lip and thought for a moment.

"Maybe whoever is killing these human teenagers has an affinity for future sight?" Punk shook his head at Beth, who sighed in frustration.

"That's not it. If the cops or anyone else was closing in on their trail, then they wouldn't have started. Those with affinities for future sight aren't stupid, you know." Justin growled softly at Punk, who sent him a glare. Rolling my eyes, I spoke up.

"Guys, fighting and arguing isn't going to help the situation."

"You know, John, whoever it is that's killing human teenagers may be after Dave in order to get to you." I looked over at Evan, confused and perplexed.

"What…what did you say?" Justin stopped my ramblings.

"Why would you say that, Evan?" Evan shuffled a bit before he looked up at me and answered.

"Well, it makes sense when you think about it. The three deceased teenagers all knew Dave, right? And what's so special about Dave? Nothing, really, no offense, except that he knows you. You're a recently Selected werewolf teenager, new to Hell High and life as a werewolf in general. Perhaps whoever or whatever is murdering teens is after Dave so that they can get to you."

I stared at Evan with what must have been the most ridiculous, puzzled expression ever. His words swirled about in my head and made everything blurry and incomprehensible. But the more I thought about them, the more it made sense, even if a part of me, a big part of me, wanted nothing more than to deny it.

"He's right, John. Whoever or whatever is doing this will use Dave to get to you. Why, though, I have no idea. Christian might. I'll have to go and talk to him about when we're done here." Looking up, my eyes lock with Punk's and I saw a very brief flash of concern before he looked away. All of a sudden, everyone started talking at once, making everything seem like one giant cluster fuck.

"Oh my gosh, John! Evan's probably right!"

"Ya can't let whoever it is play ya like that, man. Ya just can't. You'd be puttin' yourself in danger!"

"Heath's right, John. If what Evan said is true, then if Dave is kidnapped and you go after him, you'd be putting yourself in danger."

"John? John, look at me." Hands made their way to my face and forced me to turn and look at Justin, whose soft, brown eyes were gazing worriedly into my own.

"John, I promise you that I won't let anything happen to you. Evan may be right, but as far as we know, Dave is safe and sound. Maybe he took your advice and went some place safe and away from his family and friends. However, if he is kidnapped, we'll do whatever we can to get him back, okay?" I nodded and Justin smiled at me, a small, sad smile, and hugged me. Hugging him back, I couldn't help but feel a bit numb.

Somewhere, deep, down inside of me, I knew that Dave was in danger. And I also knew that I was going to do whatever I could to get him back safely.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: You guys make me giggle. I just love hearing from you. Your support and your words of encouragement inspire me and allow me to be bold and daring enough to write a lot of crazy stuff. Thank you all so much for your support; I hope that you continue to read my stuff. So, here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

The rest of the school day dragged on and on, and I was more than glad when the final bell rang. Ever since lunch ended, I've been anxious, nervous, and way too energetic than I should be. My eyes kept checking the time every other minute, and it ticked away slowly. Painfully slow. When the final bell rang, I jumped up, grabbed my stuff, and left the classroom, hell bent on getting to the common area and turning on the news.

Justin was right beside me as I practically ran to our dormitory. Kids in the hallway stared at us as we passed them, but I really didn't care. I needed to know if Dave was okay, even though I knew that he wasn't. But I had to know for sure. I just had to.

When we got the dorm, I wretched open the door and stepped inside. Everyone was already there: Punk, Heath, Zeke, Beth, and Evan. How they got there so soon, I had no idea, but I was grateful that they were here. That feeling left me as soon as I got a look at their expressions. Punk looked up at me when I walked in and his gaze said it all. Feeling numb inside, I walked over to the coach and stared at the TV. The news was on and there was another broadcast airing.

_"Police have just released a statement that high school quarterback, David Batista, has been reported missing. He was last seen by his parents at around ten last night as he was going to bed. It's unsure if he was taken from his home or if he snuck out and was abducted elsewhere. His parents, along with the local law enforcement authorities, are conducting a search part currently and are asking for volunteers to help. David is the fourth teenager to go missing."_

_ "In other news, some local residents are protesting these disappearances and murders, claiming that the local Hell High finishing school is to blame for the murders. The police, who have been dealing with outrage from the start of these disappearances, are now having difficulty keeping peace. The spokesperson for these local residents, John Cena, Senior, has been threatening to lead a riot of protestors to the school this weekend. Police are doing everything they can to quell this riot…"_

The broadcast continued, but I wasn't listening. I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to pay much attention. My gut feeling was right: something _had_ happened to Dave. He went missing. And if I didn't do something about it soon, he might end up dead. Cringing at that thought, I was given a small spark of hope when I didn't feel the same gut feeling that I usually felt about these kinds of things. A hand gently patted and rubbed my shoulder and I looked to see Justin staring at the news. Beth shut the TV off and everyone turned to look at me. However, they didn't get the chance to say anything. Although I felt a small spark of hope, the feeling of dread made me sick to my stomach. I ran to the kitchen area and threw up the contents of my stomach. That's when the noise started.

"Oh my _God_, are you okay?"

"Dry heave, John, dry heave!"

"Heath, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Brush your teeth! I don't want to smell like puke, and if I'm around you and you breathe on me, I will."

"Punk, shut the hell up."

"Love you too, doll face."

"Seriously though. You better not have puke breath."

"Punk, you really should shut up. Beth, stop giving him the middle finger. Evan, would you please get John's tooth brush?"

"And mouth wash."

"Punk, I told you to shut up. Heath, stop hanging off of the back of the couch. You're a werewolf, not a monkey. Zeke, grab Heath. He's about to fall."

"Ah!"

"Got ya!"

I heard footsteps behind me and I knew, without looking, that it was Justin. Although I hadn't been around him for all that long, I now knew his presence, recognized it, and liked it. It comforted me and made me feel safe and secure. His hand returned to my shoulder and started rubbing small circles in my t-shirt.

"It's okay, John. We'll figure something out. We'll find Dave. You're not alone in this." Spitting out the last of the bile, I nodded and turned the faucet on. I washed my mouth out with water and was just spiting it out when Evan came rushing over with my tooth brush and a bottle of mouth wash.

"Here ya go, John." Flashing him the barest smile, I nodded my thanks and took my stuff out of his hands. I brushed my teeth quickly and rinsed my mouth out before I turned around and faced my weird group of friends. They were all staring at me with concern in their eyes. Sighing, I knew that we had to come up with something, some sort of plan, to find Dave.

"We're in some deep shit." Punk scoffed while Heath and Beth both nodded. Zeke chewed on his bottom lip while Evan went to sit down.

"No shit, Sherlock. What was your first clue?" Beth glared at Punk and kicked him. Hard. He swore and rubbed his leg, before turned back to me.

"Sorry…"

"It's okay. Did you talk to Christian yet?" Punk nodded.

"Yeah, I did. He still has some stuff to look into, but he did tell me that your best bet in finding Dave is to search the woods. Since the other teens' bodies were found there, there's a strong possibility that Dave's scent or something may be there."

"So, are you saying I need to go out into the woods around our school and see if I can pick up on Dave's scent?"

"Pretty much. Although, you're definitely not going alone. I'd take Justin with you, and maybe Evan just to be on the safe side." At that, Heath started protesting loudly, along with Zeke and Beth.

"What? Why can' we go with John? He might need us!"

"If he runs into trouble or the murderer, he'll need more than two people to help him. What if he gets knocked out or killed? Or what if Justin or Evan are injured or killed? Then we lose three of our friends and a human teenager dies."

"Heath and Zeke are right! Why put the three of them in harm's way? We should all be there!" All three of them nodded in agreement. Punk groaned and shook his head. He sent me an expecting looking, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Guys, I'd love for you all to come with me. It'd help me out more than you all know. But…"

"But what?" I opened my mouth to continue when I was cut off by Justin.

"Think about it. If six of us go out into the woods late at night, after curfew, there would be a lot of noise and shit, right?" Beth and Heath shared a guilty look before Beth nodded.

"…Right."

"If whoever or whatever that's been kidnapping and killing these human teenagers is out there, there's a good chance he, she, or it will hear us. And if we're heard, then there's a good chance that the murderer will run off, with Dave alive or dead." I picked up where Justin left off.

"Which would be a very bad thing. Besides, it wouldn't be a good thing if all of us got in trouble for breaking curfew." Heath titled his head to the side, obviously confused.

"Trouble?"

"Yeah. Odds are we'll be out past curfew and it wouldn't be right if you guys got in trouble when it wasn't necessary."

"But we want to help you, John…" Zeke stated, with Heath nodding enthusiastically.

"Yeah, you're our friend. We don't want ya t' get hurt."

"It'd be better if it were just John and Justin. Evan can patrol on his own since he can control fire and shit like that. Now stop your bitching and deal with it." Heath glared at Punk.

"Shut the hell up, Punk! And what'll you be doin' while John, Justin, and Evan are out there in the woods risking their necks?" Punk smirked at Heath.

"I'll be doing what I do best. Sticking my nose into places it doesn't belong." Other guys started coming in and we huddled closer together so that no one would over hear our conversation.

"So it's agreed that John, Justin, and Evan are going to go out into the woods and see what they can find?" Reluctantly, Heath, Beth, and Zeke nodded.

"When should we go out and do our patrolling?" I asked Punk. Knowing that Dave didn't have all the time in the world, I wanted to go out and start searching as soon as possible.

"After dinner. If you go now, it'll look suspicious. However, if you go after dinner when it's darker out, you're less likely to be spotted by any of the professors." Justin and Evan nodded. I wasn't satisfied at the thought of waiting that long, but it made sense to me, so I agreed.

"Good! Well now, as I would absolutely hate being caught dead with you dweebs, I'm going to my room." Heath smirked.

"Going to get some beauty sleep, princess?" Punk sent Heath a very icy smile.

"No. I'm going to masturbate." At Heath's stunned expression, Punk laughed and continued, "Every man has to have a hobby, peaches. Good luck, John." And he walked away, head held high and proud. Heath was still stunned, but Beth and Justin exchanged a look before Justin chuckled briefly.

"God! That Punk…he's a shitload of weird wrapped up in a crazy towel."

"He's not so bad once you've been around him." Beth rolled her eyes at what I said. I shrugged my shoulders and sent her a small smile, one that obviously didn't reach my eyes.

"Punk's a jackass. Simple as that. Well, I'm off to my dorm. I've got to drop my crap off and talk to Nat before dinner." Beth got her things and left. Evan fidgeted and chewed on his bottom lip. I stared at him, worried.

"Are you okay, Ev?" His brown eyes looked up at me and he shrugged, trying to look nonchalant.

"Well…no, not really. I mean…what if you guys need me and I'm too far away from you? Or what if I pass by the murderer and let him go because I didn't realize who he or shit or it was? Or what if-"

"Evan, don't worry about that stuff, okay? Everything will be just fine."

"You r-really think so? Because I couldn't live with myself if I let you or Justin get injured or…or worse because of me." Closing my eyes for a brief second, I wrapped an arm around Evan's shoulders and hugged him close to me.

"Of course I think so. We'll pick up on Dave's trail in no time and he'll be home safe and sound." I was lying. There was no pretty or delicate way to put it; I was flat out lying. Judging by the look on Justin's face, he could tell that my optimism was faked, but he didn't say anything. Evan gave me a nervous smile and nodded.

"I believe in you, John. I'm going to go and prepare for our walk in the woods." He scampered off, almost forgetting his school bag in the process. Heath shook his head as he watched the young warlock leave.

"That boy's got too much dang energy. But I'm glad that Evan's feelin' better." Zeke nodded at his mate in agreement.

"Me too. Come on, Heath. Let's go put our shit in our room. Dinner's going to start soon." Zeke grabbed Heath's hand and they got up and left. That left Justin and myself in the common area with other Selected werewolf teens. I looked at Justin and saw that he was staring at me, his eyes full of concern.

"Well, we'd better go to our room too." He nodded and we grabbed our books. Walking back to the dorm room, I couldn't help but feel anxious, nervous, and scared. So much relied on me; it was, literally, a case of life and death. Needless to say, the wait for dinner to start and dinner itself were pure torture. The real fun (ha! Yeah right) began afterwards.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update. Work, school, and other stuff have been keeping me on my toes more than I'd like to admit. But I thank you for your patience and support. I must say, this story is winding down. Soon, there will only be a few chapters left, and then, only the two bonus chapters until the entire story is said and done. There will be another _Hell High_ after this one, but I'm unsure when it'll be posted. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

Dinner was an absolute nightmare. It was as though time was purposefully taunting me. Dave probably didn't have much time left, and even though my gut wasn't telling me he was dead, it was saying that he was in grave danger. So many doubts raced through my mind. What if I wasn't able to pick up any trace of Dave? If I did find a trace, or him, what could I do? I knew that I was going to do something, even if that meant that I'd have to kill something or someone to save him. There was no fucking way I'd leave Dave stranded to die a horrible, grizzly death.

Finally, after what seemed like an agonizing wait, Justin, Evan, and I finished eating dinner. We got up, placed our trays in the bin, and left. Heath, Zeke, and Beth all gave us thumbs up for support. Knowing that they knew everything and that they were silently cheering us on made me feel a little bit better, but the doubts didn't go away. As we made our way outside, Justin grabbed my hand and held it in his, squeezing it for a second to reassure me. I looked over at him and studied him as we neared the iron school gates.

Justin really was hot. And cute. And completely gorgeous. Aside from that though, he was smart, funny, sweet, and affectionate. If anything happened, I was going to do my best to make sure that he wasn't harmed or anything. Yes, I realize that I was probably expecting a lot of myself; I mean, how the hell could I save Dave _and_ protect Justin and Evan at the same time? The answer was simple: I couldn't. Or rather, I didn't think I could.

We arrived at the gates and Evan pushed them open gently, trying to make as little noise as possible. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he slipped through and walked a few feet away, disappearing into the darkness. It was Justin's turn next. Before he slipped through the gates, he turned to me and stared at me, his soft, brown eyes full of warmth and affection.

"John, I know that all we're doing is looking for a trace or a scent or _something_ that will lead us to where Dave may be. There are a lot of possibilities that could become realities tonight, but there's something I want you to know." He took a deep breath before continuing.

"Even before I was Selected, I felt out of place; like I didn't belong. But whenever I'm with you, I feel like I've finally found a place where I belong; it's like I've finally found a home. _You're_ my home, John, and no matter what happens tonight, I will never stop caring for you. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you and Dave both return home safe." Justin leaned in and kissed me, hard and passionate with a lot of intensity and heat. Moaning, I kissed him back, welcoming the small gesture of comfort and support. After a few seconds, he broke away and kissed my cheek.

"I'll see you in the Dark Side." I rolled my eyes mockingly at him and laughed.

"Okay, Darth Vader. It's a date." Justin grinned and slipped into the darkness beyond the gates. Just as I was about to follow suit, my cell phone went off. Taking it out of my pocket, I unlocked the keypad and read the text message that Punk had sent me.

_Stay focused. Keep your eyes, ears, and nose alert. I'll text or call you if Christian and I find something out. Good luck. Be safe._

A smile graced my lips as I read his text message. Exiting out of the text message, I returned my phone to my pocket and squeezed through the gates. Closing them gently, so that little noise was made, I turned around and stepped a few feet into the dark of the woods. I waited for my eyes to adjust and when they did, I looked around for Justin and Evan. They were standing close to the wall a few feet on my left and I walked over to them.

"Are you guys ready?" Justin and Evan nodded.

"Evan, do you know what you'll be doing?" The Selected warlock teen nodded and he smiled nervously.

"Yep! We separate here and I scout the woods using my fire power, and if I find anything, I text you." I smiled and ruffled his hair, which made him pout and shake his head.

"Good. Be careful, okay?" Evan nodded.

"You two do the same." Evan walked off and was soon swallowed by darkness.

"I hope he'll be okay," I said softly, though I knew that Justin had heard me.

"He will be. Trust me when I say that he's tougher than he looks." A small laugh escaped me.

"You're right about that. Alright, let's get going. Ready, Justin?" Justin flashed me the same bad boy grin he usually gave me whenever he was ready to do something he wasn't supposed to be doing. Seeing it boosted my confidence a bit more.

"I've been ready, John." Justin took a deep breath and dark fur began to grow over his skin and clothes. In mere seconds, a large wolf stood where Justin once had, its familiar soft, brown eyes gazing up at me. His ears were alert and he was ready to go. Nodding down at him, I turned towards the woods and took a deep breath.

"Okay. Let's get going."

Justin woofed at me softly and we began walking. The direction in which we were walking was the same one that Christian had taken us. We figured that maybe, because I'd gotten my feeling at Julie's crime scene, that there might be a trace of Dave there or something that we could use to find him. It wasn't the greatest plan, but it was all I could come up with. I'd rather have a starting point than to just search blindly.

Just like the last time, the walk took about twenty minutes, give or take. The woods surrounding us were unusually quiet and I shared a knowing look with Justin. Something was up; why else would there be a lack of noise? We kept walking though, Justin on constant alert with his superior senses while I kept my eyes and ears open. Perhaps it was because I was so anxious, but it seemed like we had arrived at the still taped off crime scene in no time. Passing under the tape, I wandered around the scene, sniffing, feeling, while Justin sniffed around, staying close by. It was when I approached the body outline that I smelled it. Faint at first, but as I drew closer, the smell intensified until I knew for sure that what I smelled was legit.

It was Dave's smell.

"Justin. I've got Dave's scent."

Immediately, Justin was by my side, sniffing, inhaling, and committing Dave's scent to his memory. I continued to sniff as well and I followed my nose. With Justin by my side, I walked away from the white chalk outline and ducked underneath the crime scene tape. Following the scent, we continued left, stopping every so often to listen, watch, and smell. Dave's scent was still strong, and it was growing stronger the further we walked. Although we were surrounded by trees and nature, the scent was strong and almost overwhelming. Peering into the darkness ahead of me, looking all around the trees and scrubs, I searched for something, anything, that may give us a clue as to where Dave was.

That's when I saw it.

Hanging from a tree branch a few feet above my head, out of my reach, was Dave's varsity football jacket. And it had a blood stain on it.

Crying out loud, I jogged over to the tree with Justin on my heels. When I arrived at the tree holding Dave's jacket hostage, I tried reaching it without jumping. However, my arms were a few inches too short. So I jumped up; once, twice, a third time, and then I grabbed it. The branch that held it cut into the material and tore into one of the sleeves, but I didn't care. All I cared about was that we had found something of Dave's, which meant that we were on the right track. From beside me, Justin's fur receded and he changed back to his normal, human form.

"It's his varsity football jacket." Justin and I studied the jacket, sniffing it and studying it, as if it held other clues.

"John, there's blood on it." I nodded and sucked in a sharp breath.

"But it's not a large amount, so whatever wound he has that made him bleed…it didn't kill him…right?" Justin nodded.

"There's not that much blood on it, so I doubt that the wound was fatal. He probably cut his arm or something like that. That would explain the blood." I put my nose right up against the fabric of the jacket and inhaled deeply. Dave's scent was all over the jacket, but there was something else. Something that smelled vaguely familiar, but was hard to trace. I handed the jacket to Justin.

"Sniff that. Do you smell something else besides Dave's scent?" Justin took the jacket from me and sniffed it. Pulling back, he frowned and sniffed it again before nodding.

"His scent is all over it, but there's something else. Another scent. One that I recognize, but I can't place it right now. Fuckin' weird…"

"Shall we continue to follow the scent trail?"

"Yeah. It might lead us to Dave." Justin turned back into his wolf form and we started walking again, leaving the jacket behind.

We walked for almost twenty minutes hearing no sound except for our own breathing and footsteps. Then, from the left of us, a twig snapped. A chill ran down my spine and I shivered. Just like that day I went for a walk outside of the school gates, I felt someone, or something, watching me. It was a creepy ass feeling and I was getting sick and tired of it. If there was someone or something out there watching me, I was going to punch it. End of discussion.

Justin growled and crouched down, listening, watching, and waiting. And then, he took off in the direction of the sound, leaving me alone.

"Justin! Justin!" I knew that it was no use trying to get him to come back. Justin would come back when he had determined that it was safe. Besides, it wasn't as if he was miles and miles away. He could still hear me and smell me, so what was there to get too worked up over?

Okay, I realize that I was probably fooling myself, but it gave me a little bit of courage which, along with my anger, allowed me to continue following Dave's scent. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me and it just pissed me off even more. Seriously, I was going to punch something or someone. Shaking my head, I stopped for a moment and calmed myself. What I really needed to do was focus, and after a few deep breaths, I found myself able to ignore the creepy feeling and was able to focus solely on Dave and his scent trail. Sniffing the air, I followed Dave's scent and walked on, passing trees and bushes and whatnot.

Five minutes passed. Then ten. At least, it felt as though ten minutes had passed. I wasn't entirely sure. All I knew was the Dave's scent was getting stronger, like it had when Justin and I were approaching the jacket. There was the sound of rustling leaves and bushes from about twenty feet away, but the sound only lasted for a few seconds, so I shrugged it off. It was probably Justin, just scoping the area before coming back. Dave's scent grew stronger and stronger, until I could barely make out a large mound that had his scent all over it about thirty feet ahead of me.

The scent grew stronger as I continued making my way towards the mound. As I approached the weird form, I realized that it wasn't a mound or a boulder or anything like that. I could make out the wrinkles in the clothing and I realized that what I was staring at was probably Dave. I started running towards him, dodging branches and roots, not wanting to get cut up too badly. He moaned softly when I knelt down beside him, gently turning him over to make sure he was in one piece. Dave looked okay; he had a few cuts that had been bleeding as well as a few bruises, but other than that, he looked fine.

"Dave? Dave? Are you awake? Can you hear me?" He groaned and his eyes opened for a second before he shut them tight again. Then, he blinked a couple of times before he shook his head.

"John…?" I smiled, relief flooding my entire being. Dave was alive and well. I had found him; he was going to be okay. That was what I thought prior to hearing a twig snap somewhere behind me. The creepy feeling hit me in my gut and I felt that same creepy ass gaze focused on my back. Dave tried to sit up and I tried to stop him.

"Don't move, Dave!" I hissed at him. "You're still in danger." But Dave's eyes weren't focused on me; they were focused on whoever or whatever was behind me.

"John…I'm not the only one who's in danger here…" Closing my eyes for a moment, I released an annoyed breath and turned around to finally confront the creepy thing that had been stalking me.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Aren't I a stinker, leaving you all with a cliff hanger at such a moment? However, this chapter will answer a lot of questions, hopefully, and the answers may, or may not, surprise you. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. You guys are the best in the world (see what I did there?) R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

I turned around to finally face the creepy thing that had been stalking me. What I saw shocked me and threw me for a loop. Standing before me on two legs was the weirdest creature I had ever seen. It looks like a werewolf from a movie: it was tall, a good nine feet at least and bulky, with tangle, messy, dark fur and blood red eyes. The snot was long and the jaw was opened, showing the creature's yellow teeth. Both arms were long and dangled by its side, with sharp claws where fingers should have been, and its legs looked incredibly strong and powerful. This creature could run fast and could tear through anything. But what really stood out about it was the Completed bright emerald green spiral that was placed directly over the heart.

This creature wasn't some monster; it was a shape shifter who had made it through Completion. A light breeze picked up and the shape shifter's scent was carried to me. Breathing it in, I wasn't at all surprised that I recognized the scent: it was the other scent that I had found on Dave's jacket. Aside from that though, it was one that I could remember, now that I could actually think about something other than Dave. It was the same scent I had smelled when I first woke up in the infirmary.

It was Mr. McMahon's scent.

Everything was finally clear and easy to see now that the truth had finally been reached. It would explain Mr. McMahon's weird behavior and the things he had said. And Punk did tell me that Mr. McMahon was a shape shifter. But why would he want to kill teenagers? What purpose did he have for it? Was it to get to me? If it was, why would he want me? I stood up and growled, not knowing what to do if Mr. McMahon came at me, but knowing that I was going to do _something_.

"I know who you are." Mr. McMahon tilted his head to the side and his expression changed. He now looked like he was mocking me – at least, it felt that way to me – and, had he been in his human form, I knew that he'd be smirking at me. It was as if his expression was asking me, 'Just who do you think I am?' A smirk graced my face, even though I really had no reason or upper hand for it to do so.

"You're Mr. McMahon."

At that, his ears perked up and he studied me for a minute or two. Then, he lowered his head and growled. His growl made the hairs on the back of my neck, and all over my body, stand up. It wasn't the growl of a wolf, yet it wasn't that of a man either. The creature that Mr. McMahon had shifted into was some bastardly form of a wolf, and it disgusted and offended me. However, I didn't really have time to think about it because he was starting to come closer to Dave and I.

"John…John, you need to get out of…here." Dave's voice shook with fear, not that I could blame him. Looking down at him, I saw the he was still a bit dazed and confused, so I helped him to stand up.

"When I tell you to run, run. Even if you're unable to get very far." Pulling Dave with me, I backed away from Mr. McMahon, who continued to come towards us at a slow pace. It was as though he really was a movie werewolf and was stalking its prey.

"What? Are you fucking kidding me? No way am I going to let you face that thing alone! Besides, he kidnapped me. He wants me." I shook my head and pushed him behind me.

"No, Dave, it's not you he wants. It's me." I didn't need to look at Dave to tell that he was confused. The feeling rolled off of him in waves.

"You? But why-"

"God damn it, Dave! I don't have time to explain. Now run!"

Dave hesitated for just a second before he took off, running as fast as he could. His footsteps were loud and heavy and unstable, but at least he was running. My gaze remained focused on Mr. McMahon. We were circling each other now, as though we were two opponents about to fight, and that was probably the case. Although I wasn't as strong or as large as he was in this form, I could hold my own. At least, I hoped I could.

"Justin, Evan, right now would be a really good time for you guys to show up. Just saying." I mumbled to myself, knowing that Justin could probably hear me even though Evan couldn't.

That's when Mr. McMahon lunged at me. Even though I was expecting him to attack, my guard wasn't up. I was knocked to the ground with him on top of me, his horrible breath raining down upon me. Out of instinct, I brought my fist up and punched him as hard as I could in the face and kneed him in the groin. He roared in pain and I was able to get out from underneath him. But he wasn't down for the count. Mr. McMahon got up and narrowed his red eyes at me before he charged at me. This time, I was expecting it. I moved to the side and he hit a tree branch, which cut the side of his face.

Shaking his head, he turned to face me, his murderous glare fixated solely on me. He stalked towards me, his figure looming over me, but I was pissed and sick and tired of being stalked. Besides, I wasn't fighting just for myself; as far as I'm concerned, I was fighting for the three dead teenagers, for Dave, and for my school. After all, it was because of him that our school was in danger. When he was close enough, I punched him again, hard, and it hurt my hand. But I didn't care, even if I had broken a few bones. All I was concerned about was taking the Provost down, once and for all. Mr. McMahon staggered a bit from the force of my punch before he shook it off.

When I brought another fist up to punch him, he caught it in one clawed hand and squeezed. The pain came rushing immediately and I howled in pain, unable to control myself. That's when he brought his other clawed hand down and sliced into my upper arm. It stung before going numb for a second or two, and then the pain arrived. My wound was bleeding, but it wasn't deep enough to kill me. Not yet, at least. Staggering backwards, I hit the trunk of a tree and felt my knees give way. I didn't want to go down – I wanted to keep fighting him – but that just wasn't possible. Mr. McMahon was looming over me, his red eyes glaring down at me, and I could feel the triumph pouring out of him and it made me sick.

Just as he was bringing his claws up, the ones that had sliced me, a rustling noise sounded from the right. Then, Justin leapt out of the brush and growled at Mr. McMahon before lunging at him. His jaws clamped around Mr. McMahon's forearm and he snarled, his teeth sinking in. Mr. McMahon cried out in pain and tried to shake Justin off of him. When Justin didn't let go, he clawed at him, scratching him and making him growling and whimper in pain. Still, Justin held on. And still, Mr. McMahon kept beating on him. I stood up on shaky legs and ran over to them, tackling Mr. McMahon to the ground and punching him with all of my might.

Red eyes glared at me and I felt an elbow connect with the side of my head. Gasping in pain, I stopped my assault and rolled away from the two of them. I rose to a crouch and wiped away the blood – I was bleeding? – from the side of my face. Justin finally let go and Mr. McMahon glared down at him, ready to strike. That's when I realized that the trees around me were starting to glow a bright orange. The orange color turned darker and started reddening and then, a ball or something of fire rushed past me and struck Mr. McMahon in the side hard. The mere force of the hit made me wince and I was more than thankful that that fireball had been directed at the Provost instead of myself. Rushing after the fireball was a very sweaty, panting Evan who looked pale, dirty, and scared.

"John!" Evan knelt down beside me.

"Are you okay, John?" I nodded and winced, hissing softly in pain.

"'M fine. But you should be focusing on Mr. McMahon." Evan smiled, looking pleased with himself, and shook his head.

"No need. I brought back up." I looked at him, puzzled, not really understanding what he was telling me.

"Back up?" He nodded and when he heard running footsteps coming from the same direction Evan had come from. His smiled widened.

"Yup. Back up."

Six guys came charging out of the darkness and headed towards Justin and Mr. McMahon. All were obviously Selected students: two vampires, two shape shifters, and two seers. I recognized four of them: the two vampire students that I had been creeping on when I went to the library; the taller of the two shape shifters, who I had bumped into when I left the library; and the Hispanic seer, who I had seen out in the courtyard. And then I realized something: I had seen all four of them on the same day. Weird...

Mr. McMahon was already on the ground thanks to Evan and his fire affinity. The others kept him down though, as he was trying to sit up. Growling, furious, he fought them, but as there were six of them, he had no chance. Justin whined and I looked over at him. He was getting up, his legs weak, and he was changing back. I stood up and made my way over to him. He was panting and sweating and scratches and bruises covered his body where he had been injured. Every time he breathed, he winced and I was hesitant to touch him at first. Pushing down my concern and fear, I placed a hand on his shoulder as gently as I could, not wanting to hurt him any further.

"Justin? You're not…hurt too badly, are you?" Justin looked up at me and he smirked.

"No, I'll be just fine. I've had worse from school bullies. I'm just glad we got the fucker." I nodded and smiled in relief.

"Yeah…me too."

"John? Are you okay?" I turned around and saw Punk, Christian, Dave, and Professor Jensen came running out of the darkness. Dave looked exhausted and was having trouble standing. Punk was helping him stay on his own two feet while Christian and Professor Jensen walked over to Mr. McMahon.

"You can let him go, Ted. The same goes for you Alex and Chris. Alberto and A-Ry, keep your eyes open just in case he tries to escape. Cody, take Ted to the infirmary; he's had a rough day."

The six Selected students nodded at Christian's instructions and did as he told them. Cody, the smaller of the two shape shifters, helped Ted up and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the scene and into the darkness. Alex and Chris, the two vampire students, released Mr. McMahon from their grasps while Alberto stayed crouched by the Provost's side. A-Ry stood by Alberto, his eyes glazing over as they gazed down at Mr. McMahon. Christian and Professor Jensen approached the deformed version of a werewolf and stared down at him. Christian looked serious, although there was a relieved glint in his eyes. Professor Jensen looked a bit shocked and uncomfortable, but there was no doubt in his eyes.

"Why don't you change back to your old self, Provost McMahon?" Christian asked him. Mr. McMahon growled and looked like he was ready to attack. However, as his eyes flickered over everyone's face, he stopped and, slowly, changed back into his human form. When his change was over, Mr. McMahon stood up and brushed off his suit, holding his head up high.

"You've finally been caught, McMahon. I'll have you know that the police are on their way and you will be arrested for the kidnapping of the four teenage humans as well as for three murders." Mr. McMahon's cold gaze connected with Christian, who didn't even flinch.

"You've been planning this, haven't you Christian?" The blonde smirked and tilted his head to the side.

"I had to gather my sources and collect my evidence, but yes, I have been planning this. And my efforts paid off. We've caught you, in large part thanks to John, Punk, Alex Riley, and Alex Shelley. Who knew that you'd be screwed over by four Selected students who haven't even made it to Completion yet. Truly pathetic. Chris, Alex, Alberto, A-Ry, grab the Provost. We're heading back to the school. Evan, please take care of Dave for me. John, Justin, Punk, let's go."

Nodding, I helped Justin up. He stood unsteadily on his legs for a few moments, but then he stabilized and started walking. There was a slight limp to his step, but it didn't look serious. Evan walked over to Dave and started talking to him in a soft voice. Punk let go of Dave and gave him to Evan, who wrapped an arm around his waist and shoulder and helped him follow Christian and the others. As Justin and I started walking, Punk came over to us and shook his head.

"You're both a bunch of fucking morons." I stared at him, obviously confused, and he sighed and shook his head dramatically.

"Oh yeah, and you're fucking stupid too." Justin groaned and sent a glare in Punk's direction.

"What the hell are you talking about, Punk?"

"I'm talking about you two fighting McMahon, dumbasses. Only morons would get themselves hurt badly enough to bleed." Punk raised an eyebrow in my direction and I shrugged.

"So, where were you, Mr. Perfect?" Justin asked him as we continued following Christian.

"Funny thing, we ran into Alex Shelley in McMahon's office. We were going to poke around in there _again_ because we thought we missed something the last time we went there, and we found Shelley poking around. Apparently, he had been sent to the Provost's office a few days ago and smelled old blood, so he went back to check. The three of us left the office and Christian, literally, followed his nose until we ran into Evan, who looks like shit by the way, asking for help. Shelley ran off and we followed. We humped into Jensen along the way. Apparently, he's been suspecting McMahon as well. At least, that's what I got from the conversation he was having with Christian. It's weird, because Christian didn't tell me that he had been talking to Jensen about McMahon."

Punk stopped as we arrived at the school gates. Professor Jensen and Christian opened the gates wide and all of us filed into the front parking lot of the school.

"A-Ry and Alberto, you stay here until the police arrive, then bring them to the Provost's office." The Hispanic and blonde nodded and stood in the middle of the gates, blocking the way for anyone to get in or out. Christian turned to look at us and he smiled softly.

"Sorry you guys, but I'm afraid I can't let you go to the infirmary until you speak to the police. Is that okay?" I looked at Justin who shrugged and stepped closer to me, making me smile.

"That's fine. I'm too wound up to sit still for the nurse to examine me anyway." Christian's smile widened and he nodded at me before we continued walking.

I wasn't lying; I was a bit wound up. But more than that, I wanted to talk to the police and I wanted to be there when McMahon was arrested and formally charged. Besides, I wanted to make sure that Dave was definitely okay. Hopefully, his parents were on the way as well and if they were, then it'd be a nice family reunion, one that I wanted to see. After all, he was still my best friend, regardless of all of the things that had happened between us. Justin grabbed my hand and held onto it as we entered the school and made our way to the Provost's office. Looking at him, I couldn't help but smile, feeling relieved and happy that McMahon had been found out and caught.

Finally, it was all over.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: How many of you thought that chapter twenty-six was the final chapter of this story? A few of you? A lot? Well, my pretties, I am here to tell you that, although the story is coming to a close, there are still a couple chapters yet to come. Not only that, but there will also be two bonus chapters posted once the initial story has ended. Thank you for all of the support and feedback; everything you all send me is read and appreciated. So, here's another chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

We marched into the Provost's office, trying to be careful of all of the stuff on the walls and cases. Mr. McMahon was pushed down onto a chair and the two vamp students stood over him, one on either side, to watch him. Just in case. Christian and Jensen leaned against the wall behind the desk while Evan sat Dave down in the Provost's chair. Evan leaned against the desk and was a bouncy bundle of nerves that flinched at every sudden noise. Punk sat down on the floor and leaned against the desk so that he was directly across the door.

Although I was sore and tired, I didn't sit down. Instead, I stayed standing and leaned against the wall. I wanted to be awake and alert when the police arrived since I knew that they'd be asking questions and all that jazz. Justin leaned against me, his nose nuzzling my ear every so often. Punk scoffed at us until I kicked him. After that, he stopped making noises, but he didn't need words or sounds to rely what he was feeling; his expressions did that very well.

"How are you feeling? Are you severely injured anyway? Any broken bones or anything? Are you cold? Did you want something to drink or eat?" I looked over at Evan and saw that he was fussing over Dave, who looked like hell.

He looked tired, pale, and like he was about to get sick. His clothes were torn and dirty, and his on arm was cut and had been bleeding. Luckily though, it had stopped and it didn't look too bad from what I could tell. At Evan's questioning, Dave's dark eyes looked up at him, as though he was contemplating what the warlock student was asking of him. Then he shook his head and groaned, leaning his head on his left hand for support. Professor Jensen gently quieted Evan.

"Evan, that's enough. He's been through a lot in such a short period of time. He's tired, exhausted, and came very close to death." At that, Evan's face fell and he gazed down at Dave with wide, apologetic eyes.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't trying to…I didn't mean…I just wanted to…" Evan looked like he was about to start crying. Christian placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and the brunette looked up at him, tears shining brightly in his eyes.

"It's okay, Evan. I think we're all in need of some comfort food. Would you mind going to Professor Hasannova's office and asking for her assistance. If I recall correctly, she makes the best chicken noodle soup in the state." Evan stared at Christian for a second before he smiled brightly and nodded his head.

"Sure. No problem. I'll try to be quick, just in case I'm needed, 'kay?" And with that, he scurried out of the Provost's office, leaving the school office entirely. Dave groaned again and I crossed the few feet that separated us and knelt down beside him.

"Dave?"

He looked at me and I saw, reflected clearly in his eyes, just how much this whole ordeal has affected him. It made me feel bad, knowing that there wasn't much I could do to take that away from him and knowing that I'd break it heart when I told him that I wanted to be with Justin. None of it was fair: Dave had lost three friends, he had nearly been killed himself, and his eyes held the life experiences that no teenager should. What had I lost? Nothing.

"John…you're okay." His eyes traveled over my face and I saw them widened when they reached the wound that I had on my head.

"You're hurt." Gently, ever so gently, he reached up and touched my wound. It was tender, but I knew that it was healing, so it didn't hurt that much. Releasing a small laugh, I nodded and took his hand in my own.

"Yeah… So are you. Did he…did he do anything to you?" Mr. McMahon scoffed at my question and I glared up at him.

"As if this was ever about pathetic human teenagers." I snarled, stood up, and stalked over to him. Justin and Christian were at my side, ready to hold me back if necessary. However, I wasn't that stupid; I knew better than to lay a hand on McMahon. McMahon didn't even flinch; he just stared at me with an air of arrogance I wanted to beat out of him.

"What do you mean?" Christian asked him, pulling me further away from the man until there were a couple feet between us. Mr. McMahon's gaze turned to him and he answered, holding his head up high as though proud of what he had done.

"The teenagers that died were only the means to an end…" His eyes moved from Christian and settled on me yet again. Growling, I glared at him, unable to hide my anger. Was he saying that those three teens, that Dave's friends, died because of something that had to do with me?

"Are telling us that you did all of this because you wanted to get to John?" Punk asked and stood up, his arms crossed over his chest and a cool stare focused solely on McMahon. However, Mr. McMahon's eyes didn't shift from me for a second.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Gabriel, do you remember the night you snuck into the seer's office to take a look at the files on her desk?" Justin stilled for a moment and I looked at him. Surprise was written plain as day on his face and his brown eyes narrowed at the Provost before he began answering.

"Yeah. Why? Are you going to give me detention for it?" He sneered and Punk smirked and nodded.

"You're getting the hang of this shit, Gabriel."

"Shut up, Punk."

"As I was saying…" Mr. McMahon glared at Justin and Punk, who merely smirked in returned. "That same night, I was patrolling the hallway and I heard your obnoxious friend's cell phone go off. Naturally, I entered the office to see what was going on. You had disappeared, but the files had still been left out, and John's was on top. Before I put them back in order, I read your file, John, and I made a most intriguing discovery. One that angered me beyond all belief." His eyes returned to me and the hatred and anger behind the gaze almost made me flinch. Almost. I was sore and getting tired and I was not in the mood to submit to anyone.

"And what discovery did you make?" I asked, trying my best to keep from growling. As much as I wanted to maul the man in front of me, I couldn't it. Christian and Justin still had their hands on me, but I wouldn't have touched him even if I were freed. It was worth it. Mr. McMahon's glare didn't lessen and he practically snarled as he answered me.

"Everyone's file lists what career path they will ultimately choose. Yours is what angered me so much." He paused for a moment before he continued.

"You ought to know by now about the Council, comprised of five Sages, one from each separate species, who reign over the five different species." I thought for a moment, not entirely sure if I did know about the Council. My textbooks had the name listed in the index, but other than that, I was clueless. My confusion must have been obvious because Punk rolled his eyes and sighed while Justin inched closer to me and explained.

"The Council is made up of five Sages who have all made it to Completion: one warlock, one sear or physic, one shape shifter or morpher, one vampire, and one werewolf. To become a Sage, once is Chosen by the Sages on the current Council and serves until they retire or die naturally. It's a lifelong commitment, but it's the highest status and honor that could be granted to anyone who has made it to Completion. Students don't normally learn about the Council until their fourth or fifth year of being Selected."

"Well put, Justin." Professor Jensen nodded to him and Justin nodded back and pressed himself closer to me. His presence made me calm down and I allowed myself to relax as McMahon started talking again.

"What does the Council have to do with his career path?" Alex Shelley, the vampire student who had the filled in marks, asked McMahon.

"Being Chosen to become a Sage is usually given to those who have been adults for decades or centuries. However, John is to become the youngest adult werewolf to be Chosen as a Sage. What angered me was what you try to accomplish while in your post. No human serves as a Sage on the Council; humans are kept apart on purpose due to their prejudice and the past history we all share. But you, John, change all of that; under your reign, humans finally embrace, for the most part, all five species and a human Sage is Chosen to be on the Council." The other vampire student, Chris, stared down at the older man with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Isn't that a good thing?" McMahon scoffed at him and snarled.

"We do not need filthy humans, and we certainly do not want them to serve on the Council with us." Christian sighed and shook his head while Professor Jensen responded.

"Humans have come a long way since the Times of Burning, Vince. It's time we all tried to create a more trusting peace and unity for us all." McMahon glared daggers at Professor Jensen, who merely gazed back at him sadly, as though pitying him.

"We are better than humans! Superior and far more advanced. We don't need to form alliances with them. That's why I went after those teenagers: because, eventually, I get to someone you loved and then, I'd get to you."

Hearing him say that, hearing the contempt in his voice and the anger at having failed, made me angry. Never mind what was said about my future or anything relating to it – I wasn't in the right state of mind to understand everything that was said anyway – he was telling everyone in the room why he had done what he did. McMahon murdered three innocent human teenagers and kidnapped and was going to kill Dave, all just to get to me? Because I was going to strive for peace and acceptance with the human population of the world? That was insane and disgusting and wrong. So damn wrong in every way possible. And why? Just because he thought humans were beneath us? What a crazy ass, old man… Everyone must have been thinking the same thing because Chris and Alex shook their heads, obvious disgust clear on their faces. Professor Jensen sighed heavily and shook his head while Christian's lips thinned into a strained line. Punk snorted and placed his hands on his hips, looking down at McMahon as though he had lost his damn mind (and he probably has). Justin snarled, menacingly and loudly, causing everyone to look at him.

"You think that just because you hate humans it gives you the right to kill them? Are you fucking stupid? Just because you don't like a certain species or whatever doesn't give you the right to go out and murder innocent people! Men, women, children… No one has the right to kill someone for something that they can't control. No one has the right to play God."

I looked at Justin, knowing what had pissed him off so badly. His father had murdered a lot of werewolves in Cape Town, South Africa. From what I gathered, he did it because Justin had been Selected as a werewolf student, which was a totally bogus reason. So it made sense that Justin would be pissed at McMahon for what he did. And he had every right to be; killing someone because there's something about them that they can't control is just plain wrong, and ignorant. After all, if every being who has been Selected and has made it to Completion wants acceptance for who and what they are, then they should be accepting of humans as well. McMahon merely stared coolly at Justin, who was trying very hard to not let go of me and rip the Provost's head off.

"Considering that your father is human, don't you hate humans yourself, Gabriel?" Justin growled and Christian let go of me so that I could wrap my arms around him. He was shaking from anger, but he didn't do anything. With me in the way, he couldn't.

"No, I don't hate humans. I hate my father, because he was the only one who acted. No one else in our town set out to murder werewolves; just him." A small smirk crossed McMahon's face and he leaned back in his chair.

"But there are others who have murdered werewolves, vampires, and others."

"True, but they've been punished for their crimes, just as you will be too." Looking over at the door to the Provost's office, we saw Alberto and Alex standing there with the police Chief and other officers. Christian and Professor Jensen straightened up and walked over to them, greeting them and letting them in.

"Thank you for calling. I wasn't sure if you understood all that I was telling you. But time was short and if I didn't hurry, there would be another teen dead." The Chief nodded and looked at everyone around the room.

"It's no problem. We're here now and we're ready to make an arrest and take him to the station. My detectives and officers will question everyone at the scene and take their statements. David?" The Chief looked over at Dave, whose head snapped up when he heard his name being called. Smiling down at him, the Chief looked over his shoulder and motioned to one of his officers. Nodding, the officer turned around and walked down the hallway only to reappear a moment or so later with Dave's parents. His mother released a relieved sobbed and they both rushed over to him.

"Oh thank God! You're alive!" His mother threw herself on Dave, hugging his around his neck and crying. His father hugged him quickly and patted and rubbed his shoulder, looking just as relieved as his mother.

"We've been worried to death and searching for you. Thank the good Lord that you're alive and in once piece. Son…I…" Dave nodded and smiled before hugging both of his parents. Once they let go, his mother and father turned to me, bright, relieved smiles on both of their faces.

"You saved him, didn't you?" I nodded at his mother and looked down at my feet, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. Yes, I saved Dave, but I would have done it for anyone who I knew and cared about. And it wasn't just me who saved him; everyone in this room had helped rescue Dave, and they deserved the credit as well.

"It wasn't just me. Everyone here saved him." Dave's mother nodded and walked over to him, giving me a tight hug before letting go.

"Thank you, John." She told me. Her eyes wandered from me to everyone else in the room. "Thank all of you for saving my boy."

Alex looked down at the ground, clearly uncomfortable, while Chris shrugged and smiled softly. Alberto grinned and nodded as A-Ry smiled and told her it was nothing. Justin looked over at her and smiled before he pressed himself closer to me. It felt nice, having his warm body pressed close to my own. Punk merely smirked and shrugged.

"It's no problem. We do it all the time here at Hell High." Dave's mother looked at him as though she wasn't entirely sure if he was being sarcastic or not. Before anything else could be said about it, two police officers walked over to McMahon, and everyone's eyes were on them as they read him his rights.

"Vince McMahon, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?" One officer asked while the other gently pulled McMahon up on his feet and cuffed his hands behind his back. McMahon nodded stiffly and the two officers led him out of the office.

"Now that that's taken care of, I think we ought to get these kids to the school nurse and take their statements."

Christian nodded at the Chief in agreement, and we were all ushered out of the office. Walking to the infirmary, I thought about everything that had happened tonight, before and after Justin, Evan, and I ventured out into the woods after dinner. The thought of repeating everything that had went on, the thought of reliving it again, made me feel tired, but I knew it had to be done. So we walked to the infirmary, Justin and I trailing behind everyone else, and I leaned my head on his shoulder, feeling drained and more than ready to get this over with.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Sorry for taking forever and a day to post this chapter. Things have been beyond crazy and it's been difficult to write anything. I thank you for your patience and your support; it's much appreciated. Here's the next chapter. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

The only nurse who was on duty at the infirmary gasped when we walked in. Quickly getting up, she told us to sit down on the beds and chairs positioned throughout the ward and went to go get help. In a matter of seconds, Justin and I were being looked over by two seers while the others sat down. Chris and Alex weren't injured and Punk definitely didn't need any attention. Alberto and A-Ry weren't hurt either; it seemed as though Justin and I were the only ones to get hurt fighting McMahon. Figures. After about five minutes of being tended to, the infirmary doors opened up and a police officer walked in with Dave and his parents.

"This young man requires immediate medical care." Another nurse rushed over and gently led Dave to a bed.

Everything was happening in a whirlwind of excitement, talking voices, orders, and questions. Since werewolves healed faster than normal humans, Justin and I weren't in bad condition. The worst of our injuries were already healing, so there wasn't much left for the nurses to treat. Sophie, the nurse in charge, sectioned off Dave's bed, allowing only his parents and a detective within the area. That's when the questioning started. Officers, with their notepads and pens in hand, began speaking to everyone involved, talking in low voices so as not to disturbed the nurses working.

There was at least one, maybe two, officers from every person who needed to be interviewed. Christian and Professor Jensen, who were standing close to the entryway, were talking in low, hush voices to the Chief and one of his detectives. Chris and Alex, the two vampire students, were sitting in chairs and Chris was talking to the officer while Alex nodded and added information when he needed to. Alberto was standing not too far from where Justin and I were and A-Ry was sitting down. Both were speaking to officers who were jotting down notes. One of the police officers who had arrested McMahon walked over to us and smiled tiredly.

"Hello. I'm Officer Thomas. I just want to get your statements on the McMahon case and I'll be asking a few questions after you're finish explaining. Is that okay or would you rather wait a little while?" Justin looked over at me, his eyes asking me his silent question. Meeting his gaze, I held it for a moment before turning back to Officer Thomas.

"I'd rather just get this over with now, if you don't mind. We'll tell you whatever you need to know."

Officer Thomas nodded and asked me to explain everything. So that's what I did. I told him everything, starting from the day that I was Selected to tonight. I told him about my bad feelings and about the creepy feelings I'd get whenever I went outside on my own. I told him about the weird things McMahon had said and about how I knew even before I'd watch the news that the teenagers had died. And I told him how I had told me friends everything and that they knew we were going out to investigate tonight. Justin added some things as I retold my accounts of everything that had to do with McMahon and the murders.

The officer nodded as I spoke and wrote down something things on his notepad, keeping silent and allowing me to speak. Telling him about everything Justin, the gang, and I had found out and talked about seemed to take forever. It seemed even longer than that when I started speaking about tonight and everything that had happened. As I spoke, the events of the evening replayed over again in my mind and I shuddered at what I saw. Had I really done all of that? It seemed so far-fetched, but it had happened. Deep down in my heart and in my mind, I knew it had happened.

When I finished speaking, Officer Thomas asked a few questions to make sure that he had all of the facts. From what I could tell, he had about six or seven pages of notes, which didn't seem like a lot to me, but then I figured that Officer Thomas probably wrote in shorthand or something. Feeling tired and sluggish, I yawned and stretched, sitting up straighter on the bed where Justin and I had been placed. From beside me, Justin yawned and slumped against me, obviously tired. I didn't mind though; having him closer made me feel a bit better. Officer Thomas turned his attention to Justin and started asking him questions. Justin's answers were similar to my own and by the time the officer had finished, only three pages of notes had been added.

"Thank you, gentlemen, for you time. It's greatly appreciated, especially by the families of the deceased teenagers." I smiled at him tiredly.

"No problem. We're just glad it's all over." The officer smiled at us.

"You'll be needed for the trial and whatnot; after all, even people like McMahon have the right to a trial by jury. So this isn't over quite yet."

"Oh…" He smiled and thanked us again before walking over to the Chief. Glancing around, I saw that Chris, Alex, Alberto, and A-Ry had left.

"They went back to their rooms. They didn't have much to say." I jumped, startled, and looked up to see Punk standing by the bed. Glaring half-heartedly at him, I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by Evan.

"We've come bearing chicken soup!" He walked in with Professor Hasannova and a blonde warlock whose five was filled in and expanded, with roaring lions rearing out of the intricate lines. Sophie looked up at them and then at the clock.

"At ten fifty-four at night?" Professor Hasannova sat a tray down on the counter and gave Sophie a small smile.

"Given the circumstances at hand, these kids need something that will warm their hearts and souls once again. Food, I find, had the astounding capability of doing just that." Sophie nodded in agreement and took two bowls in her hand before going over to Dave's bed. Evan and the blonde warlock came over to us. The warlock Selected teen looked ecstatic and happier than I had ever seen him.

"John, I'd like you to meet Chris Jericho. He teaches Ritual Spells here, and he's my mate." Justin was wide awake now and his soft, brown eyes hardened into a glare as they stared at Chris, who looked like hell. My own eyes narrowed at him and he shifted uncomfortably. Evan handed us each a bowl of soup and spoons.

"What are you doing back here so soon, Chris? Vacation with your ex-wife not fulfilling enough for you?" Chris sighed heavily and he replied, his eyes never leaving Justin's cool glare.

"I can't take what I did to Evan back. Nothing can take the pain and anguish I caused him back. But I did what I did for a reason and that reason stays between Evan and myself. So get the fuck over it." Justin growled, but didn't say anything.

"Please Justin, just let it go. Chris told me everything and I forgive him. So please…" Evan pleaded with his friend, fresh tears building up. Sighing softly, I placed a hand on Justin's shoulder and rubbed it for a brief moment. Within a matter of seconds, the tension left him and he calmed down.

"Fine. But if you ever hurt Evan again, I will kick you repeatedly in the spleen until you piss blood, and then I'll make you drink it."

"Evan?" We looked up at Professor Jensen, who was smiling at the smaller teen tiredly. "

"The Chief would like to get your statement, if you don't mind." Evan just smiled at Christian before he turned to us.

"I don't mind at all. I'll see you two tomorrow, okay? Go hit the showers – you both look like hell – and get some sleep."

"Thanks, Evan." He just rolled his eyes at my sarcastic tone and laughed it off before he and Chris crossed the few feet between us and where the Chief was standing. Justin yawned and shook his head. He was tired and so was I. I looked over at Sophie and Professor Hasannova, who were both eating soup and talking to each other quietly.

"Uh…Professor Hasannova?" She looked over at me and I grinned tiredly at her.

"Can Justin and I leave now? Officer Thomas already took our statements and we're not hurt too badly." She shared a look with Sophie before she answered.

"You two are free to leave. Just be sure to check in with Sophie tomorrow for a brief look over. Better safe than sorry." Nodding, I got up and helped Justin up as he had less energy than I did.

Bidding everyone good night, we left the infirmary and made our way slowly back to the dorms. It was kind of hard to walk since Justin was half leaning on me and we were both tired as hell. All I wanted was a nice, hot shower and to fall face down in my bed. Luckily, when we were almost at the dorms, we were met by Beth, Heath, and Zeke, who all looked worried and relieved.

"Oh my God! You two look like shit!"

"Heath, don't be a southern jackass."

"Beth's right, Heath. Be a bit more sensitive. They look like they've been through hell."

"Sorry. I'm just so glad that you two are okay." Heath and Beth practically knocked us over when they hugged us. Justin groaned and pushed Heath off of him.

"Thanks for the concern, but Heath, you're a fatty. Get off of me." Heath let go and pouted at his best friend. Justin remained unfazed and grabbed my shoulder with his hand to steady his swaying form.

"I'm not a fatty! …Am I?" Beth looked him over and snorted.

"You could lose a few pounds." Heath's mouth fell open and he looked like a gaping fish. I laughed at him and Justin smiled and shook his head.

"Zeeeeeeke! Am I a fatty?" Heath turned to his boyfriend who smiled sweetly at him and pulled him into a hug.

"Of course you're not fat, love. You're perfect just as you are." Heath smiled shyly up at his mate and blushed a bit before he turned to Beth and stuck his tongue out at her.

"There! I'm not a fatty. So ha!" Beth rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't talking about your butt, although it does need some toning. I was talking about the fifteen pounds of ginger hair you're sporting. Seriously, it's so…so…ugh! You need a new look, babe." Heath glared at her before shrugging and turning his nose up.

"My hair looks fine jus' as it is." Zeke gave the red head and indulgent smile and kissed his forehead softly.

"Of course." Again, Beth rolled her eyes and she turned away from the cooing couple and focused her attention on Justin and I.

"So…what happened out there? We heard the police sirens and stuff. Justin? John?" Justin groaned and released a breathy laugh into my ear. Shivers ran down my arms and I shudder slightly. I understood how he felt though; we were both tired, dirty, and sore. We needed to shower and sleep before we could explain what happened earlier tonight to our friends.

"Tomorrow, Beth. We'll tell you about it tomorrow." Beth thought on it for a moment while Heath whined loudly and pouted at us.

"But the whole school will know by then!" Justin just grinned devilishly at the taller teen.

"So what? When we tell you tomorrow, you can compare and contrast. John and I are both tired as fuck and all we wanna do it shower and go to sleep." Heath's expression changed and he looked concerned and apologetic.

"Oh my, God. I didn' even think 'bout that. Jesus, am I stupid or what? Let's get you two back to your dorm room."

Flashing Heath a brief, thankful smile, I nodded and Justin and I walked with our friends back to the dorm. Beth left us for her own dormitory and hugged both Justin and I before leaving. Zeke opened the door to the common area and Heath helped us slip inside. The room was half crowded with curious teenage werewolf Selected students who started asking questions and talking loudly when we entered the dorm. Luckily, Zeke and Heath were with us because we would have been bombard repeatedly and never left alone until we answered all of the questions being thrown at us. With Zeke and Heath on either side of us, Justin and I managed to make it past all of the testosterone infused questions and made it to our dorm room.

"Get some sleep you guys." Zeke looked us over and nodded, as though he was reinforcing what he had just told us.

"Yeah. I'm sure you two need it. Good night."

"Night Heath. Night Zeke." Closing the door, I sighed and leaned against it, relieved and grateful that we were now in our room. Justin rubbed my back for a few seconds before letting his arm fall to his side.

"Do you want to take a shower together?" My head snapped up at his question and I stared at him with wide, unsure eyes.

"What?" Justin smiled at me and he laughed softly.

"I won't do anything to you. I was just asking because…I don't think I'll be able to stay standing on my own for much longer. Besides, I can wash your back for you." He gave me a small, reassuring smile. My eyes raked over his form, taking all of him in.

"You must be even more sore than you look."

"I am." He nodded as he spoke. The thought of him seeing me naked so soon in our relationship made me hesitant, but I thought about what he had said.

"Okay. Sounds good to me."

We made our way to the bathroom and striped out of our dirty clothes. Justin stumbled a bit and I helped him get into the shower first. Getting in after him, my face burning bright red and my body heating up because, well, Justin's pretty fucking hot, I fumbled with the faucet before turning the water on. The hot water hit both of us at once and I moaned softly, supporting my weight against the wall with an extended arm. Justin sighed softly and he tilted his head back, allowing the water to flow down his body. Looking at him, I was nearly blown away by how gorgeous he looked with his black hair clinging to his face and his mouth hanging open slightly. Sure, to someone else it may not have been a pretty picture, but it was to me and that was all that matter.

Feeling like a zombie, I grabbed a pouf and started washing my body, hissing every so often whenever I touched a bruise or moved wrong. After standing still for a few minutes longer, Justin started washing himself as well. While his entire front side was lathered in soap, he gently scrubbed my back and I moaned loudly, loving the feel of it. He snickered and I could tell that he was grinning.

"Like that, huh?"

"You have no idea…"

"Just wait until we're in bed and sleeping together. I'll make you feel even better. But not tonight. Some other time."

Laughing, I shook my head and turned around to wash his back in return. The shower took about fifteen to twenty minutes, but it was worth it. It felt nice having the hot water rain down upon us at a nice, steady rhythm. And it was nice to be with Justin and showering. Finally, after we were both cleaned and looking almost as good as new, I turned off the water and we both got out. Drying ourselves off, we put our pajamas on and exited the bathroom, more than ready for the warmth and comfort of our beds.

A/N: The next chapter will be the last one of this story. Don't forget that after that one there will be two bonus chapters. Thanks for reading!


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: This is it: the final chapter of this story. It's been one amazing ride and I'm so thankful to all of you who have read this story and have liked it. I'm even more thankful to those who have left feedback; you guys let me know if I'm doing a good job at what I love to do or not. Thank you, all of you, for the support; it drives me and allows me to keep moving forward. Don't forget that, after this, there are two bonus chapters for you guys. But this chapter concludes the actual story. R&R. Enjoy!

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

"God fucking damn it!"

Were the first words out of my mouth when I woke up by rolling off of my bed and landing face first onto the floor. Groaning, I tried to sit up but felt too tired and lazy to actually make an effort. Glancing up, I saw that the clock read three seventeen in the morning. Sighing, I stood up and yawned, still tired and a bit stiff. Looking over at Justin, he looked so comfortable and cute tangled up in his blankets and sleeping soundly. For some reason, I felt the strong urge to get into his bed and cuddle up to him.

We had only slept in the same bed on a number of limited occasions, but it was usually Justin who crawled into my bed. It was never the other way around. Shrugging to myself, I crawled into Justin's bed and snuggled up beside him, inhaling his scent and allowing myself to relax. Being close to him made me feel safe and secure and I could help thinking how funny that was, considering my reaction when he first told me that I was his mate.

Closing my eyes, I pressed myself closer to Justin and smiled when he rolled over and cuddled against me. Warm and secure, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I woke up when the alarm started going off. Justin bolted straight up and gasped out loud, his head of hair sticking out at different angles and his eyes wide.

"What's goin' on?" I groaned and yawned before sitting up.

"The alarm's going off. Calm down, Justin." Yawning and stretching, Justin glared at his alarm and then shut it off forcefully, as though offended by it. Then his eyes widened and he looked at me, a shit eating grin on his face.

"You're in my bed." I stared at him, not knowing where his train of thought was leading to.

"…Yeah…" Justin's grin widened.

"You wanted to sleep with me." I nodded and he pulled me into a tight hug and nuzzled my neck affectionately.

"You like me." I gasped and forced myself to relax, smiling a little. Yeah, I did like him. A lot.

"You like like me." I returned the embrace and sighed in relief when Justin let go.

"Yeah, I do like like you, Justin." Justin grinned.

"How much?" I smirked and got up, heading towards the bathroom.

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself." I closed the door before Justin could reply.

Turning the sink faucet on, I splashed on water on my face to wake me up a bit more before I took care of business. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Justin was already dressed and ready for what I knew would be an interesting day of school. Peeling off my shirt, I grabbed a t-shirt and put it on before taking off my pajama pants and replacing them with cargo shorts. Grabbing my stuff, I looked over at him and sighed, planting a small smile on my face.

"Ready for school?" Justin yawned before replying.

"Yeah. But it would've been better if I could've stayed in bed and cuddled with you." Opening the door, I headed on out with Justin behind me, closing the door to our room. We proceeded down the hall slowly, neither one of us wanting to face what was probably waiting for us.

"Yeah…that would've been nice. Hey, about your, uh, comment last night in the shower?" Justin grinned and looked at me.

"Don't worry, Johnny. I won't claim you until you're ready." I paused for a moment as I thought about what he had just said.

"Wait…you claim me?" Justin laughed and smirked at me as we neared the common area.

"Well, yeah. I'm no one's bitch, babe. Not even yours."

"Oh my fucking God, you two are talking about sex. It's way too early in the God damn morning to hear you two talk about fucking sex." I jumped and looked behind me at Punk, who looked tired as hell, yet somehow much better, healthier, than he had been for a while now. Glaring at him, we made it to the common area and headed for the kitchen.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Punk! Seriously, I know that I've told you to make some noise so that you're not scaring the living hell out of me." Punk shrugged and opened one of the cupboards to take out a Nutri-Grain Bar.

"I do what I want and no one's going to convince me otherwise, Johnny boy. Sorry to burst your bubble." Justin handed me a Coco Puff's cereal bar while he munched on a Cinnamon Toast Crunch one.

"Whatever you say, Punk." Before I could continue, Heath and Zeke stormed into the kitchen and Heath nearly collapsed on the counter.

"Gawd, I have been so worried 'bout you two. You've no idea…" Everyone around us stopped what they were doing and looked at Justin and I. And that's when the questions started.

"Justin1 John! What happened last night?"

"There're rumors going around about you guys."

"What the fuck where you up to?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone else about it?"

"How come you two get all of the damn fun, huh?"

"Is McMahon really the killer?"

"I heard he was arrested last night."

"Is that why the police were here?"

"With McMahon gone, who's going to be the Provost of the school?"

"Will the school be shut down because of McMahon and all the shit that went down?"

All of these questions and comments were suddenly raining down on Justin and I, and we didn't know what to say or how to respond. Heath and Zeke both gave us apologetic looks and tried to talk to us, but their voices were drowned out by everyone else's. Punk threw his wrapper away and grabbed his shit before he, literally, shoved Justin and I towards the door.

"So sorry to break up this little Gossip Girls' fest, but we've got to get to class and so do you guys. There's going to be an afternoon assembly after lunch, so don't get your panties in a bunch. Have a good morning, ladies." The door closed and we were free of the chaos that had conquered the werewolf boys' dormitory. Sighing in relief, I walked with Punk and Justin and unwrapped my cereal bar.

"Thanks, Punk. I owe you one, man." Justin nodded in agreement and shot the dorm a brief glare over his shoulder before turning his attention forward once again.

"Holy fucking hell. Guys can be worse than girls sometimes." Punk rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"What was your first clue, Sherlock?" Justin punched Punk in the arm half heartedly, but the older teen didn't even flinch.

"Is what you said true?" Punk looked at me with a raised eye brow.

"Huh?"

"Is there an afternoon assembly after lunch?"

"Yes there is. Christian and Professor Jensen are holding it. They're going to explain to everyone what happened and they're also going to announce who the new Provost is."

"Oh. Okay." We parted ways and made our way to class.

The classes before lunch went by fast and by the time lunch rolled around, I was on the edge of my seat. Although I knew what had happened, I wanted to hear it being told to everyone else. Would the story be edited with a lot of stuff left out or would it be told in its entirety? I wasn't sure, but I wanted to find out. Heath, Zeke, Evan, and Chris were already at our usual table by the time Justin and I had picked up our food trays. Sitting down, I could help but smile at how happy and energetic Evan was. Knowing that he was happy was all that mattered, even if Chris was still on probation for hurting him the way he did. Beth came over to the table and sat down.

"So, are you two okay now that you've slept?" I smiled and Justin replied.

"Yeah, we're fine now. Sorry for scaring you last night." Beth smiled at him and stabbed her fork into the pasta.

"So, are you going to tell us what happened or let the assembly do that for you?" Justin and I shared a look before I spoke up.

"How about this? We'll let the assembly take care of the jist of it, but we'll tell you guys everything that was left out. Deal?" Beth grinned while Heath nodded.

"Deal. Jus' don' forget the juicy details, naw mean?"

Lunch was soon over and everyone was ushered to the auditorium. Justin, myself, and the gang sat down in the fifth row in the middle section. We wanted to be close, but not too close. There was a lot of talking and whispering going on around us as the professors helped students find seats and whatnot. After everyone had sat down and was quiet, the lights dimmed and the spot lights that lit up the stage turned on. A podium with a microphone placed on it sat by itself on the stage and after a few seconds, Christian and Professor Jensen walked out. As soon as they had been spotted, every noise stopped, almost as though time itself had stopped. Christian adjusted the microphone before he started speaking and I reached over and grabbed Justin's hand. I wanted to hold onto something just in case I got too nervous or energetic or anything like that.

"Good afternoon Selected students of Hell High. For those of you who do not know who I am, my name is Christian and I am the Ritual Leader for the werewolves' full moon rituals. I'm sure you are all anxious and curious as to why this assembly has been called and I'm here to explain.

"Last night, it was discovered by a handful of Selected students, ranging from different years and classes, that Vince McMahon, former Provost – and yes, I did say former – of our school, was the murderer of the three teenage humans and the kidnapper of the fourth. According to my resources and the resources of a select few around me, McMahon has hated humans for a number of years and devised a plan when he intruded on a person file of a student currently enrolled at this school. The student whose file he looked at, along with the students who caught McMahon last night, shall remain anonymous. The file that McMahon looked at told him that the student would become a member of the Council and will attempt to bring a more permanent peace between the five species and humans in the future. McMahon devised a plan to find and murder that student before such a thing could be carried out. However, the student whose file had been looked at, with the aid of peers and friends, was able to stop McMahon last night, and McMahon was arrested by the local police department. Statements have already been made and a confession has been taking." Christian paused for a moment to clear his throat before he continued.

"For those of you who have questions, please see myself or Professor Jensen after the assembly. Since McMahon is no longer Provost of this school, another Provost has been elected. I shall allow Professor Jensen to enlighten you on that subject. Professor, if you may?" Christian stepped away from the podium and Professor Jensen stepped up.

"Thank you, Christian." Professor Jensen cleared his throat before addressing the audience. I felt a little put out. Christian didn't explain everything, but it was enough to put the questions at ease. And he didn't mention names, which I was thankful for. I didn't want myself or anyone else to be looked at and whispered about like we were the freaks of the school.

"I am happy to announce our new Provost. Please, everyone, give a warm round of applause for Provost Hasannova." Professor – I mean, Provost – Hasannova walked out on stage from the left and smile softly as everyone. When her eyes landed on me, she nodded very briefly before she reached the podium.

"Thank you, Professor Jensen, for that marvelous introduction…" Professor Hasannova spoke for a few minutes before the assembly ended.

After that, everyone got up and headed towards their classes. Classes went by fast and, before I knew it, the school day had ended. I was so damn relieved that everything with McMahon was finally over that I didn't even mind the pile of homework I had to do. Justin and I returned to our dorm room and I flopped down on my bed, grinning like a moron. My bed dipped down and, without even opening my eyes, I knew that Justin was leaning over top of me. His body heat seeped into my clothes and into my skin and I opened my eyes. Blue met brown and my grin softened into a smile.

"Hey." Justin smiled and kissed me, laying his body gently on top of mine. The kiss was brief, but nice, even if he did pull away before I wanted him to. Stupid tease.

"Hey."

"It's finally over." Justin's smile widened and he nuzzled my neck, placing soft kisses on it.

"Yeah. It's finally over and done with." He pulled up and stared into my eyes. My face turned a little red and I squirmed under his intense stare.

"So…what now?" Justin shrugged and chewed on his lip for a moment before answering.

"Does it really matter? I mean, as long as you're surrounded by the people you care about, it doesn't matter what happens next." Smiling at him, I pulled Justin down for a kiss. This one lasted longer than the previous one and I moaned softly into it before pulling away.

"True… Remind me to call Dan later tonight." Justin nodded and kissed me again.

He was right: it didn't matter what happened next as long as your loved ones were beside you for the journey. That, and a Star Trek marathon and a shit ton of Doritos and iced tea could never hurt.

**The End**

A/N: There it is! The final chapter. Be prepare for the bonus chapters to rear their heads sooner rather than later though. Thank you for all of the support and love!


	30. Bonus: Another Side, Another Story

A/N: Here is the first bonus chapter. It's set before the story began. Also, three hundred plus reviews? Damn. I was not expecting that. I was surprised when this story reached over one hundred. I owe it all to you guys, of course. I don't know how I can thank you except, well, to say thank you. Anyway, I hope you like this. R&R. Enjoy!

**Hell High – Year One Bites**

**Another Side**

_Dave_

Dave wasn't a creepy Facebook stalker. Not at all. He just had the very bad habit of watching John like a hawk whenever they were at school. It wasn't his fault though. Okay, it was entirely his fault, but he couldn't help himself. How could he when all he's been able to think about lately is that kiss and make out session they had not longer after John's mom died? Granted, he usually thought about that even after they stopped talking to each other.

How did their friendship fall apart, anyway? That was one thing he never really understood. Perhaps it was because they both were still at that awkward age and the feelings they were experiencing were frightening and way too new. Maybe it was because things were changing way too fast. Whatever the reason or reasons were, they didn't stop Dave from keeping an eye on John as often as he could.

He still cared for the younger teen. John was still his best friend regardless of the fact that they had drifted apart, and Dave still had feelings for him. Feelings that transcended those of friendship. And he's known about those feelings since he was nine years old. It was those blue eyes; they were the first thing he noticed about John when they first met in first grade and they were the first thing to pop into his mind whenever he thought about him. Thanks to his teenage hormones, Dave had been envisioning those blue eyes more and more, and usually in the confines on his bedroom or bathroom.

Just thinking about it was driving him crazy and he shifted in his seat. The last thing Dave needed in the middle of Trigonometry was an erection. Especially considering that he had just been called up along with three other students to complete the problems on the board.

Dave had to concentrate extremely hard just to finish half of his problem. While at lunch, he had overheard John talking to his younger brother, Matt, about doing…something (he couldn't remember what) after school. No, he wasn't eavesdropping. And no, he most definitely did NOT bully his friends into sitting at the lunch table next to Johns at the start of the school year. It all just…fell into place. Sighing inwardly, feeling like a love-struck teeny bopper, Dave told himself as he finished the problem that he had to get some shit from his locker.

And if he happened to see John, then so be it.

Eventually, class ended with the tolling of the obnoxious bell and Dave grabbed his stuff and waited for Tony and Mike to get their crap together. Sending Mike, who was slightly slower, a smirk, Tony sauntered over to Dave and shook his head at the brunette struggling to put his Trig book in his bag.

"You're so damn slow, Mike."

"Shut up, Antonio. At least I don't the difference between a hypothesis and a hypotenuse."

"Oh, you're so fucking funny. A real comedian." Dave laughed at the two of them. He had met Tony and Mike when he first tried out for the football team during freshman year. They weren't John – no one was like John – and he would never feel as close to them as he felt with John, but they were his friends and they understood him.

"Hey, Dave? You needed to get your Chemistry book from your locker, right?" Dave looked down at Mike and smiled.

"Yeah. Mrs. McFarland gave us a shit ton of homework tomorrow along with a test." Mike scrunched up his nose in disgust while Tony shook his head groaned. Dave just laughed and they started towards his locker.

"She's such a bitch. That crazy, old biddy." Mike shrugged Tony's comment off.

"I like her." Tony rolled his eyes at Mike and punched his shoulder playfully.

"That's because you're her favorite."

"Yeah, yeah…" They reached Dave's locked in a matter of minutes. Twisting the lock and entering the combination, Dave listened to his friends' bickering in the background. In less than a few seconds, the lock opened and retrieved his textbook.

"Got it. Let's get goin', guys." Tony and Mike continued to talk about some party they had, but Dave wasn't really paying attention. His mind was focused on John and the fact that he had yet to see him. He didn't have a problem. Honest. Dave was just...concerned.

Turning the corner, Dave's eyes were immediately drawn to two other figures in the hallway a few feet away from them. Both of them were on the floor and one, a freshman, was almost in tears.

"Hey! Isn't that that Cena guy?"

Dave squinted his eyes (he refused to wear those dorky ass glasses his mother forced him to get) and realized that, sure enough, John was on the floor, his younger brother, Matt, beside him. His eyes found John's at once and he almost shivered when he stared into those bright, endless depths. Then, John's eyes flicked downward and Dave's, naturally, followed. What he saw shocked him and he had no idea what to feel or think…

"Holy fucking shit! Cena's been Selected!"

"Is that a werewolf mark? For really? Oh hell no! Dave, c'mon! We've gotta get outta here, man!"

Dave only vaguely felt Tony and Mike grab hold of his jacket and pulled him out of John's life forever. Stumbling backward slightly, Dave finally looked away from the bright, blue eyes that had captured him so easily as a child. Never again will he see those lovely blue eyes again…

**Another Story**

_Justin_

_April_

"God, we should not be doin' this." Justin rolled his eyes as he inserted the key into the lock.

"Shut up, Heath. You were gun-ho for it at lunch today." Heath stood and looked around, using his sharp ears and eyes to keep watch. Just in case. Holding a flashlight, he jiggled it in his hands as he bounced in place.

"Yeah, but I was young and stupid then. I didn't know what I was talkin' about." Justin stopped and looked over his shoulder incredulously at his best friend.

"It was today!" Heath shrugged and tilted his head to the left, listening to something before he shook it off.

"And your point is…?" Justin sighed, released a breathy laugh and returned to the door. Gently, as quiet as he could, he unlocked the door, grabbed hold of the knob, and slowly opened the door.

"My point is that you're a hopeless." Snatching the flashlight out of Heath's hand, Justin pointed it into the seer's office and looked around before proceeding into the dark, deserted room. Heath entered after him and closed the door, making sure to stick the key in his jeans' pocket.

"So…why exactly did we break a billion and one school rules by breaking into the seer's office when she's away on vacation?" Justin sighed and shook his head as he wandered over to the seer. On the desk, laid out neatly, were the files of the students to be Selected over the summer and fall.

Truth be told, Justin didn't know the exact reason as to why he wanted to break into Mrs. Benihana's office. When he woke up this morning, he had the strongest urge to get into trouble. Potentially big trouble. Granted, Justin was usually one to pull pranks – ask anyone about April Fool's Day – and he loved pissing and fooling around, but this… This was huge. Expulsion huge. If Mrs. Benihana ever found out and got extremely pissed off about it, it would bye-bye for both Heath and himself. But, it was worth it. To find out who the newbies were going to be before a vast majority of the school did was something Justin wanted. And that was as reason to an actual reason as Heath was going to get.

"Because I want to see who the new kids are going to be. And because we can. Now shut up." Heath rolled his eyes and walked over to the desk to look over Justin's shoulder.

"You're a sucky best friend."

"And you're a redneck. Now shut up. Please." Heath pouted, but he didn't respond.

Justin started thumbing through the files. There were about fifteen in all and the names of the kids being Selected were written on the tab that stuck out. Opening the first file, his brown eyes quickly skimmed over the name and information before closing it and setting it aside. Grabbing the next one, he thumbed through that before laying it aside and moving on. That's how it continued until Justin reached the ninth file. _John Cena._ Only slightly curious, Justin opened the file and skimmed through the stuff written down. He almost set it aside, but his eyes caught his name at the last second.

Setting the file completely open on the desk, Justin read through it. It had everything in it: John's height and weight, his family and medical history, his academic history, and much more. His future was outlined in a vague format that was probably going to be filled in later. He stopped when he read who would be John's mate. When he read his name, Justin's heart starting beating faster, louder, and he chewed on his bottom lip. Just then, Heath's cell phone went off and _Party Rock Anthem_ blasted the entire office.

"Shit! Shit!" Heath took his cell phone out and turned it on vibrate. When he looked up, his green eyes met Justin's glaring brown ones.

"What?"

"Thanks a lot, Heath. Someone's probably heard it and-" The sound of a door closing loudly stopped his retort and Justin grabbed Heath and stalked towards the door.

"What about the files?"

"Leave 'em?"

"And the key?"

"Drop it on the floor."

Heath did as he was told and they left the office. Justin looked around and, when he saw the Professor Jensen's office door was opened slightly, he pushed Heath towards it before entering it himself. He returned the door to its previous position and found a hiding spot, not wanting to get caught and bitched at.

Keeping calm and quiet wasn't too hard for Justin. All he had to think about was the fact that he had a mate, John, and that he would be meeting him soon. A small smile spread across his face and he buried his head in his knees and waited for whoever was patrolling to get over with looking into the seer's office and leave.

He just couldn't wait to meet John.


	31. Bonus: The End Complete

A/N: Here's the second and last bonus chapter. This chapter is rated M because there's sex in it. I hope you all like it. R&R. Enjoy!

**Hell High – Year One Bites**

**The End Complete**

John yawned and stretched before he opened his eyes and woke up. Justin nuzzled the back of his neck and placed kisses on the bare skin. With his arms wrapped around the other, Justin continued placing kisses on John's skin while his mate moaned softly and leaned into his ministrations. He loved days like this, days when Justin and himself could go out into the bright, sunlit field that rested on their property and surrender themselves to each other. Even after twenty years of making it through Completion, being with Justin never got old. It just felt right to him, even if he would occasionally feel bad about telling Dave that they could no longer be together. Dave was still a close friend, but John was happy to see him move on and find someone else.

Justin's hands roamed across his bare torso, caressing the muscles with feather-light touches. The feeling made John shiver and he whined softly when he felt Justin bit down on his neck. There would be a mark there; there almost always was. He knew that Justin couldn't help himself; ever since they first consummated their relationship, he has marked John as his. At first, it annoyed him because John didn't belong to anyone. After all, he wasn't a prize to be won or anything like that. But after a while, he discovered that he kind of enjoyed it, he kind of enjoyed Justin's possessiveness, and he let it slide. Now, he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

"God, do I love you…" Justin whispered, his voice a little rough and dry. It was the early afternoon and they had been outside in the field since late morning. John normally wasn't one for nudity out in the open, but they were on their property and they could do whatever the hell they wanted to, especially since they were secluded. Smiling, John rolled over onto his back and stared into the soft, brown eyes he loved so much.

"I love you too, Justin." Grinning the same old bad boy grin he's always had, Justin leaned down and kissed John.

John's body sprang to life and his arms pulled his mate down so that their bodies were pressed together. Opening his mouth, he moaned softly as Justin's tongue entered his warm, moist cavern. Their tongues battled for dominance but, in the end, Justin won and John surrendered to him willingly. Allowing the South African to climb on top of him, he opened himself to his mating, inviting him in. Feeling Justin part his bare legs, John's heart leapt into his throat. No matter how many times they mated, fucked, made love, whatever you wish to call it, it never got old, it never got boring or tiresome. Quite the contrary, actually; mating with Justin left him wanting more and more. It was like a fire that just consumed and consumed and grew and grew until nothing could stop its powerful might.

When Justin's need pressed against his thigh, John let out a soft moan and arched up into his lover's body. Breaking the kiss, his mate moved from his lips to his neck and placed biting kisses on it. Moaning like a cat in heat, John raked his hands down Justin's back, his nails leaving red welts on the tanned skin. Without any preparation or notice, Justin surged forward and embedded himself as deep as he could within John's tight heat. John gasped loudly at the intrusion, but soon moaned and urged Justin on. Their lips met and fierce, heated kisses were exchanged as John's hands ran up from Justin's back to his black hair. His fingers dived into the dark crop and weaved the silky strands through his fingers, gripping him harder and harder with each thrust.

Justin growled, fierce and possessive and just the way John liked it. One of his hands traveled down John's body. Caressing the hard muscles, his mate's hand traveled further south until it reached his dick. At the sensation of his mate's warm, strong hand on his erection, John's body jerked upwards and a low growl rumbled up from deep within his chest. Thrusting in and out of the body beneath him, Justin whimpered at the feeling of being close to come undone. Becoming one, getting closer to his soul mate, his one and only, was all that mattered to both of them. It was something greater than the two of them alone and it felt oh, so right.

Pulling away from John's hot mouth, Justin nuzzled his mate's neck and whined softly, sucking and nipping at the flesh on his neck. John's hands caressed their way down his back until they reached his ass. Once they had reached their destination, his hands groped the muscular orbs, forcing him deeper, pressing him closer. The sensations were just too much to bear, and Justin growled softly as he kissed John's ear.

"Come with me, John-John. I _need_ you to come with me." That was all John needed.

Gripping Justin's hair tightly, he smashed their lips together in a rough, bruising kiss as Justin entered him one last time. With his hand pumping his hard dick, John came all over his and Justin's stomachs while he felt his mate's seed fill him. Crying Justin's name out loud as he came, John moaned and fell onto his back, panting and sweating. His mate collapsed on top of him, panting just as heavily, and cuddled closer to him. Smiling tiredly, John pulled Justin as close as he possibly could and kissed his mate. Justin responded happily and eagerly, even though he, too, was tired.

"John…That was…you are…amazing." Justin breathed out as he nuzzled John's neck lovingly. John laughed softly and nudged his nose against Justin's cheek.

"Justin…you're too much." Nipping at John's neck, Justin peered up at him with one of his soft, brown eyes.

"But you wouldn't have it any other way, would you, John?" John laughed and snuggled closer to the warmth of his mate.

"No, I wouldn't."

…

Heath skidded into the sunroom and almost ran into the coffee table. Looking up from his Sudoku book, Zeke arched an eyebrow at his younger mate and grinned at the pout that had formed as Heath steadied himself.

"God! Whose bright idea was it to have wooden floors in this house?" Zeke laughed and pulled the ginger over to him. Heath fell into his laugh and flashed him a grateful smile.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. And we both agreed on the wooden floors. It's your fault for running around with socks on, love." Heath pouted again and shot Zeke a glare.

"Are you makin' fun o' me?" Zeke smiled and kissed the smaller werewolf.

"Of course not, love. Just stating a fact. Now, why were you running into the room in the first place?" Heath's green eyes widened and smiled brightly as he held out a letter to Zeke.

"This arrived in the mail today! Apparently, John was just nominated for the Council. Do you know what that means?"

"That the seer was right about John?" Heath frowned.

"Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" Zeke feigned innocence as he read over the letter. Heath tore the letter out of his hand and threw it on the floor.

"You know what. Why do you always answer my questions like you know the answer?" Zeke pulled his pouting mate closer and kissed his cheek.

"Because nine times out of ten, I actually do know the answer." As Heath pouted even more, the older werewolf laughed and kissed him lovingly.

…

"What exactly are we doing here, anyway? It's not like _I_ was nominated for the Council." Beth rolled her eyes at Punk and jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"Ow! Why the hell did you do that?"

"Because you're a stupid, narcissistic jackass. John has a big day ahead of him. You know very well that he has to prove himself against other werewolf nominees and the last thing he needs is to hear your stupid comments." Punk rubbed his side and winced slightly. From beside him, Heath, Zeke, Evan, and Chris snickered. Glaring over at them, he puffed himself up.

"Oh shut up. Have you ever been hit by her before?"

"Nope, an' I don' plan on it either." Punk's eyes narrowed at Heath, who stuck his tongue out at him. Evan sighed softly and leaned closer to Chris.

"You'd think they were still in high school." Chris and Zeke nodded.

"And just think, they used to be worse."

"Well, Heath motherfuckin' Slater, it hurts. A lot. Especially because her elbows are pointy."

"Pointy?" Punk grabbed one of Beth's elbows, held it up, and pointed at it.

"Pointy." Heath squinted at it before he leaned back, his eyes wide.

"Dang…you gotta point there, Punk." Beth wrenched her elbow free from Punk's grasp and elbowed him again.

"God damn it!"

…

John sighed nervously as he looked around the room. His friends were seated up front with Dan and Matt. Steve and Sean couldn't make it, although he had a feeling that Sean didn't mind, considering he had inherited their father's personality. Today was his coronation day and he was more nervous than he's ever been. He was so nervous that he also forgot that today was also his thirty-one year anniversary of making it to Completion. After a long process of stating his case to the Council, John had outshined all of the other werewolf nominees and today marked a new beginning for both himself and Justin.

Speaking of Justin…

His mate walked up behind him and wrapped his arms around John's waist. Planting a gentle kiss against his bare neck, Justin whined softly and smiled when John shivered at his touch.

"Don't worry, John. Everything will turn out fine." John nodded and smiled as a thought popped into his head.

"Hopefully, today won't be like the nomination ceremony a few years back." Justin sighed heavily and laughed, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

"If it is, then Beth will be elbowing Punk _and_ Heath." John laughed along with him and turned around to face his mate.

"God, the last thing I need is for the three of them to interrupt _this_ ceremony. I nearly died of embarrassment." Justin smirked and kissed John's lips, his bread tickling his face for a brief moment. John didn't mind the facial hair though; it suited Justin. A knock at the door caused both werewolves to look over as a young witch opened the door.

"We're ready for you, John."

"Be there in a moment." Smiling at him encouragingly, the girl closed the door and John turned back to his mate. Justin smiled and flattened out whatever wrinkles had made their way onto John's jacket.

"You look perfect, John-John." John gave him a nervous smile and a tight nod. Leaning in, Justin kissed him again, slow and lovingly, his tongue sweeping across his bottom lip before he pulled away.

"Yeah, if you say so… I just wish that Dave and Steve were here." Justin laughed and nipped at John's lips.

"If Dave and his wife were here, they wouldn't know what to think of Heath and Punk." John smirked.

"True, but Steve would just join in with them. Especially Punk, since he has a thing for him." John made a face and Justin laughed at him before they started towards the door.

"Don't like the idea of your younger brother having a crush on Punk?"

"No! That's just…just…nasty. I mean, Punk's a great friend and all, but I don't need a mental image of him and my brother screwing each other." Opening the door, Justin gently pushed John through it before closing it behind them.

"I'll give you that one. But enough talk about awkward sex couples. Are you ready to become a Sage, Jonathan Felix Anthony?" John smiled at his mate and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly as they made their way to the Grand Hall, where the coronation was to take place.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

They reached the entrance to the Grand Hall, where they stood for a moment before the doors were opened, revealing the pair to the crowd that awaited them. Never before had John been so nervous to face his destiny, but he had Justin by his side. And his loved ones were waiting for him, proud to be here and waiting for him to take his place. Everything was falling into place and, even though John had felt trapped when he had first been Selected, he wouldn't change anything that had happened to him as a result. Not only did it bring him closer to his family, but he also gained the best friends he could ever hope for. Aside from that though, he had Justin, and that was all he needed to be happy.

**The End**

A/N: For those of you wondering, there will be a second _Hell High_, but it won't be out until the new year. Thank you all so much for following along with me on this incredibly journey. I hope you liked it.


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